ADVERTISING 



SELLING THE CONSUMER 




Class X 
Book_ 



_ 



CcpigM? 



CCEfRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 



ADVERTISING 



SELLING THE CONSUMER 



BY 

JOHN LEE MAHIN 




PUBLISHED BY 

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

FOR 

THE ASSOCIATED ADVERTISING CLUBS 

OF THE WORLD 

First Edition 1914 
Second Edition 1916 



HF5?23 



Copyright, 1914 and 1916, by 

The Associated Advertising Clubs of the World 

All rights reserved, including that of 
translation into foreign languages, 
including the Scandinavian 



OCT 24 1916 
©CI.A445302 



CONTENTS 
CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

Advertising Can Only Appeal to Free 

Dollars 3 

Creation of style is salesmanship — No one 
is compelled to spend a free dollar — 
The free dollar builds big business — The 
consumer enjoys being cultivated— Para- 
sites live on mortgaged dollars — Little 
businesses die on mortgaged dollars — Big 
business thrives on free dollars — The auto- 
mobile industry thrives on free dollars — 
The free dollar is the consumer's greatest 
protection and the advertiser's real oppor- 
tunity — Advertising makes possible small 
capital and reduced selling cost — Advertis- 
ing not a material substance but service 
to a group. 

CHAPTER II 

How Markets Benefit Both Consumer 

and Producer 12 

The markets based on the group — Profes- 
sional services enhanced by the group — 



vi CONTENTS— Continued 

Marketing a young man's time — The 
buyer not an expert judge of intrinsic 
values — Sentiment is the basis of satis- 
faction — Disaster follows price competition 
— The salesman's judgment must be re- 
spected — Market control a money-making 
occupation — Publicity will correct all evils 
of market control — Consumers should pre- 
fer goods bearing the producer's trade- 
mark — The dangerous position of some 
manufacturers. 

CHAPTER in 

Salesmanship Is Service 

Men succeed as they are able to induce 
others to accept their views — Advertising 
is organized salesmanship — The most suc- 
cessful salesman is he who gives his cus- 
tomer the most service — The intelligent 
salesman appreciates that his responsibility 
does not end with the sale — The service 
that merchants give more attractive than 
the goods — Merchandise plus advice and 
ideas more valuable than merchandise 
alone — Advertising is service salesmanship 
directed at a group — Advertising should 
create desires that benefit the consumer 
— Publishers fast realizing their respon- 
sibility to readers — The days of advertis- 



CONTESTS— Continued vii 

PAGE 

ing "mystery" and fake advertising fast 
passing — Censorship of advertising a nec- 
essary service. 

CHAPTER IV 

How the Salesman Becomes a Producer 33 

Personal salesmanship enhanced by advertis- 
ing — The salesman produces satisfactions 
— The essence of real values — Satisfactory 
shoes are produced by salesman as well as 
by shoemakers — Identical automobiles 
have radically different reputations — How 
a paper salesman made his goods more 
valuable — A dealer in ranges, with twenty- 
nine years' experience, learns something 
new — What a range will do, and not what 
it cost to produce, determines its value. 

CHAPTER V 

Advertising Is Selling the Group . 41 

Salesmanship converts storekeepers into 
merchants — Getting the confidence of a 
group is the department store idea — The 
group is composed of those who think 
alike — Groups as viewed by philosophers 
— Groups are really cooperative organi- 
zations — Cities, fast trains, publications, 
good examples of the group — Conven- 



viii CONTENTS— Continued 

PACK 

iences, luxuries, and education made avail- 
able for all because of groups— Member- 
ship in any group largely a matter of 
volition — The tremendous proportions of 
certain groups — In reaching groups ad- 
vertising multiplies salesmanship — Out- 
door, street-car, and publication advertis- 
ing — an appeal to a group — Sensing the 
keynote of group harmony brings success 
to the salesman and writer of advertise- 
ments. 

CHAPTER VI 

What the Manufacturer Owes the Con- 
sumer 51 

Every one is a consumer and should be a 
producer — A successful newspaper pub- 
lisher is an exemplary manufacturer — A 
complete plan of production and distri- 
bution essential — What the consumer 
thinks is a merchandising factor — Con- 
sumer groups can be organized — The 
manufacturer cannot escape merchandis- 
ing responsibility — Unproven superiority 
of no value to either manufacturer or 
consumer — A merchandising audit should 
be made by every manufacturer — Never 
trust professional work to untrained men 
— How to decide whether or not an article 
may be profitably advertised. 



CONTENTS— Continued ix 

CHAPTER VH 

7A6E 

What the Consumer Owes the Manufac- 
turer 60 

Preference of a group creates and maintains 
every big business — How the newspaper 
has increased the purchasing power of the 
penny — Modern merchandising has re- 
duced prices — When a manufacturer gains 
by reducing prices — The consumer should 
not be too sure of reduced prices — Con- 
sumers should appreciate that the adver- 
tiser is an educator — Advertisers usually 
reliable — Well-advertised articles usually 
the most valuable — The merchants who 
can usurp the manufacturer's functions 
are few. 

CHAPTER VIII 

The Tools of Advertising 67 

Successful illustrations must tell the story in 
less space than words — Ideas that appeal 
to the buying group must usually be given 
to the artist — Mechanical limitations 
must never be overlooked — Using words 
to convey ideas — Keep the words simple — 
The successful use of type — Let the master 
compositor work out details of layout — 
Building an advertisement likened to 



CONTENTS— Continued 

PAGE 

building a house — How type is used in 
printing a newspaper — How type is used 
in printing a magazine — The making of 
engravings — Cheap engravings are poor 
economy — Making the most of advertising 
space — Space buying a job for a man of 
long experience — How to get good print- 
ing — "Look before you leap" in ordering 
printed matter — The postage-saving ex- 
pert a coming profession- — Paper stock 
and printing inks — Judge paper stock and 
inks by this test — Does it emphasize itself 
in the story — Greatest of all advertising 
tools are brains and common sense. 



CHAPTER IX 

Advertising Mediums 78 

Choosing the medium of greatest prestige — 
A case in point — Buying space requires 
careful analysis — The intrinsic value of 
mediums and aggressive salesmanship — 
Service by the representative of a me- 
dium is an important factor — One large 
group vs. several small groups — The dif- 
ferent mediums used in advertising — 
Groups of advertisers who find news- 
papers the best medium — The daily news- 



CONTENTS— Continued xi 

PAGE 

paper ideal for advertising the local store 
— The newspaper best medium for satisfy- 
ing immediate needs — Fiction magazines 
as advertising mediums — The national 
weekly as a combination newspaper and 
magazine medium — Technical, trade, and 
class publications — Farm papers, the trade 
publication of a great class— How to judge 
a class publication. 

CHAPTER X 

Advertising Mediums (Continued) ... 87 
Street-car advertising analyzed — The use, 
checking, and cost of street-car adver- 
tising — The fore-runners of modern post- 
ing — The evolution of the twenty-four 
sheet poster — Billposting service as stand- 
ardized in United States — Painted bulle- 
tins — Bulletins and walls compared — The 
comparative cost of "paper" and "paint" 
— Electric signs — Window displays — Store 
demonstrations — Sampling — House-to- 
house canvassing — Form letters, mailing 
cards, folders — Cards and other printed 
matter used to assist salesmen — Calendars 
and novelties — Selling ideas used by nov- 
elty salesmen — Adding value to novelties 
— Moving-picture slides. 



xii CONTENTS— Continued 

CHAPTER XI 

PAGE 

Building and Testing an Advertisement 99 

What the copy writer should know — The 
copy writer an interpreter between ad- 
vertiser and buying group — Writing and 
illustrating advertisements with a strong 
group appeal — a natural gift — Diagram- 
ming the advertisement — Brevity not 
necessarily good — Advertisements must 
attract and create desire to buy. 



CHAPTER XII 

Application of the Five Tests . . . . 113 
Institutionalism as embodied in newspaper 
advertisements — Cities have institutional 
characteristics — The distinctive Chicago 
character — A big store is a big group — 
Every detail carefully studied — Sentiment 
is always the basis of action — A store 
without a sign — The five tests applied to 
magazine advertising — The secret of suc- 
cess in Eastman Kodak advertising — 
Keeping the demand active for Old 
Dutch Cleanser — Advertising to enhance 
confidence — Focussing demand on Swift's 
Premium Ham — The subtle handling of 
Hydraulic Press Brick advertising — Ap- 



CONTENTS— Continued xiii 

PAGE 

peal to the sentiment by the National 
Lead Company — Quaker Oats advertising 
is well rounded — The mail-order idea in 
general publicity advertising — Comments 
on mail-order advertisements — The five 
tests can be applied to any kind of adver- 
tising. 

CHAPTER XIII 

Advertising and Selling Through the Or- 
dinary Channels of Trade . . 130 
The retailer — the biggest link in the mer- 
chandising chain — The functions of a 
wholesaler — The wholesaler as an aid to 
the retailer — The exclusive jobber plan — 
The advertiser must create his market, 
the jobber is a distributor — Selling the 
retailer direct — Reasons for selling direct 
— The third middleman: agent, broker, 
importer, or exporter — Broker and agent 
practically the same — The broker sells the 
wholesaler — Selling the consumer direct — 
Introducing goods to consumers by solici- 
tors — The manufacturer who operates re- 
tail stores — The mail-order house — The 
middleman essential in almost all sell- 
ing systems — The middleman's functions 
should be clearly defined — The consumer 



xiv CONTENTS— Continued 

is the final test — Advertising confers a 
double benefit. 



CHAPTER XIV 

How the Middleman Serves the Consumer 144 
The middleman is not a consumer — The 
jobber and advertised goods — When priv- 
ate jobbers' brands are justified — Each 
distributing factor should educate the 
consumer — Better understanding will elim- 
inate waste — Retailer and consumer have 
identical interests — Advertising should 
never coerce — Advertising should be mer- 
chandised. 



CHAPTER XV 

Retail Advertising — Preparation . . . 151 
A stable labor market necessary to successful 
retailing — The location within the locality 
— Buy from competent salesmen represent- 
ing reliable houses — Comparative value of 
advertised and unadvertised products — 
Exclusive agencies should be carefully 
considered — National prestige aids local 
standing — Well-advertised lines cost less to 
handle. 



CONTENTS— Continued xv 

CHAPTER XVI 

PAGE 

Retail Advertising — Methods and Mediums 158 
Groups make retailing possible — Show win- 
dows are silent salesmen — The local news- 
paper is the retailer's best medium — Treat 
your advertising appropriation as a trust 
fund — Plan your work and work your 
plan — How suburban dealers can cash in 
on local newspaper advertising — Dealers 
should and can discriminate — The plan 
more important than the medium. 

CHAPTER XVII 

Retail Advertising — Making Good . . 168 
Retail dealers are expected to be square- 
Maintaining confidence increases the deal- 
er's assets — Inviting the return of mer- 
chandise increased profits — " Taking Back" 
goods the dealer did not sell — The power 
of service — Price cutting benefits nobody 
— A square deal for every one is the 
dealer's best asset — The difference be- 
tween intrinsic, real, and commercial value 
— Will service become too costly? — The 
desire for luxury stimulates industry — 
Service competition invites cooperation 
— Advertising will bring needed reforms — 
Stable conditions insure prosperity. 



xvi CONTENTS— Continued 

CHAPTER XVIII 

PAGE 

Price Maintenance 180 

The field of tremendous accomplishment — 
The Supreme Court and the fixed price — 
Two ways of maintaining price — both ef- 
fective — Selecting the salesman able to 
stop price-cutting — Cut price to one may 
destroy confidence of many — Plus service 
vs. cut prices — Persuasion vs. coercion — 
Confidence vs. price-cutting — Advertising 
the strongest ally of price maintenance. 

CHAPTER XIX 

Cooperation Between Salesmen and Ad- 
vertisings — Salesman, the Closer — Ad- 
vertising, the Missionary . . 190 
Creating the buying impulse — Team work — 
Increased income for the salesman — 
Service to the consumer — The stability 
test of both advertising and salesmanship 
— The salesman with a medieval mind — 
Reducing the selling cost — Utilizing the 
modern machinery of selling — Advertising 
and selling cost no more than salesmanship 
alone — The salesman works on a bigger 
scale — Advertising as insurance against 
the future — Let the wholesale salesman 
cooperate with the advertising of branded 



CONTENTS— Continued xvii 

PAGE 

staples to set higher standards for the 
retailer — It is the salesman's job to edu- 
cate his trade to cooperate — Responsi- 
bility — Cooperation — You are bound to 
get more than you give no matter how 
much you give. 

CHAPTER XX 

Advertising Opportunities 199 

Three distinct types of men needed — 
Thought must be expressed to be valuable 
— The publisher — The advertising solicitor 
— The advertising writer — The buyer of 
advertising space — Printers, plate makers, 
and typesetters — Big advertising oppor- 
tunity with the publishers — Advertising 
courses in universities. 

CHAPTER XXI 

The Advertising Manager . . . . . 207 
The advertising manager should direct sales 
— The advertising manager can create new 
policies — The four epochs in a business 
career — Second epoch, working without 
supervision — Delegating to subordinates 
is epoch number three — Commanding co- 
operation of big men is fourth epoch — 
Good judgment more important than 
handling details — The business should be 
an open book to the advertising manager — 



xviii CONTENTS— Continued 

FACE 

The strong advertising manager must be 
mature in development — Knowing where 
to get the best the secret of success — Ad- 
vice to advertising manager in a concern 
new to advertising — Getting saturated 
with information essential — Get a good 
printer — The advertising manager must 
command good- will in his organization- 
How to get all that callers can give, 

CHAPTER XXII 

The Advertising Solicitor 219 

A first attempt at soliciting — Advertising can 
harm as well as help — A solicitor should 
know what he is selling — Writing the ad- 
vertisement once the dealer's prerogative — 
A solicitor must give service — The new 
order of soliciting — Turning down business 
a royal road to future business — Soliciting 
is a serious job — A solicitor should be 
sociably serious, never clownish — The so- 
licitor must know, bluffing doesn't go — 
Criticism of your house is fatal to your suc- 
cess — The hunt for good men — The so- 
licitor's fate lies largely in his own hands. 

CHAPTER XXIH 

Mail-order Advertising 230 

Plenty of room for both mail-order and dealer 
business — Mail-order business natural and 



CONTENTS— Continued xix 

PAGE 

legitimate — The live, wide-awake merchant 
has no fear of mail-order competition — The 
field that mail-order advertisers serve bet- 
ter than any one else — Many nationally ad- 
vertised lines started in a mail-order way — 
Follow-up systems necessary in every mail- 
order business — Choosing the mediums for 
mail-order advertising — Sales-producing 
matter of high quality used by mail-order 
houses — Creating confidence, the constant 
aim of the mail-order house — Mail-order 
copy must more than offset the prestige, 
displays, and personal salesmanship of the 
store — Every word must be carefully 
weighed in writing a mail-order advertise- 
ment — The change of one word made a 
wonderful advertisement out of a mediocre 
one — Good mail-order copy should be re- 
peated — Getting the names of possible 
buyers — Mail-order advertising to focus 
the attention on the catalogue — Writing 
mail-order copy a true training. 

CHAPTER XXIV 

National Advertising and Exclusive Deal- 
ers 241 

An arrangement between manufacturer and 
retailer for the benefit of both — The man- 
ufacturers must contribute all possible sell- 



xx CONTENTS— Continued 

PAGE 

ing help, the retailers actively push the 
sale — Manufacturers that fail to give 
proper selling assistance to retailers — Local 
advertising by dealers to connect up with 
national advertising — Drawing inquiries 
through national advertising to refer to 
local dealers — Selling to one dealer appeals 
particularly to manufacturers of high- 
grade merchandise — How the magazines 
are protecting the dealer by censoring the 
advertising of the manufacturer — The 
advertising manufacturer gets the prefer- 
ence with live dealers — Failure to handle 
advertised goods a reflection on the dealer 
— Advertising in restricted territories — 
Advertising service furnished dealers in- 
cludes a variety of different kinds. 

CHAPTER XXV 

Trademarks 249 

What is our amateur judgment worth? — Co- 
operation between manufacturer and 
dealer a benefit to consumer — Greater 
profit to producer, lower cost to consumer 
— The trademark means stability — Do not 
hide your trademark under a bushel — 
Backing up the trademark with advertising 
— The stronger the competition the greater 



CONTENTS— Continued xxi 

PAGE 

the benefit to the trademarked product — 
The legal aspect. 

CHAPTER XXVI 

Prestige-building Advertising .... 257 
The salesman's part in establishing prestige — 
Prestige, the impression of quality without 
question — Constant reiteration gains pres- 
tige — Prestige depends as much on the 
manner as on the matter of your story — 
The price of silence — A pointed instance— 
Old masters made new by the master hand 
of publicity — The prestige-building story 
and the telling of it — Publicity without 
prestige — Masters of prestige building — 
The penalty, "Make Good" — Advertising 
makes the goods live up to the prestige 
gained — Where a rise in price built prestige 
— Advertising brings the deciding vote — 
Building prestige on prestige — Prestige is 
substantial, not built upon snobbishness — 
The price of confidence — A house of cards 
— As Omar says: "A hair perhaps divides 
the false and true." 

CHAPTER XXVn 

Can the Commercial Value of Good-will Be 

Accurately Appraised? 268 

Constant appraisal necessary to value good- 



xxii CONTENTS— Continued 

PAGE 

will properly— The new factory did not 
possess the good-will of the old lumber 
yard—Customers do not care where things 
are made — Good-will is attached to that 
which identifies the service — Two clearly 
defined objects for all advertisers— A mer- 
chandising audit will reveal marketing pos- 
sibilities — The engineer or accountant pref- 
erable to salesman or copy writer for mak- 
ing merchandising audits — How a merchan- 
dising audit should be made — Representa- 
tive groups of people must be canvassed — 
Chart your competitors' advertising but 
don't advertise them — The wonderful 
effect of minor points in advertising — Ac- 
counting that provides a ready basis for ad- 
vertising deductions — Proper distribution 
of overhead expense — Checking up results 
should be made easy— The executive should 
be able to know anything he wants to 
know at a moment's notice— Successful ad- 
vertising defined. 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

The Advertising Agency 282 

The early days of the agency — The era of 
split commissions and agents' net rates— 
The lowest bidder secured the business — Of 



CONTENTS— Continued ndii 

»ACS 

present-day agencies there are four types — 
The agency that sells copy — The agency 
which places business at publishers' rates — 
Agents of types two and three cannot fully 
represent the advertiser — The evils of the 
agency system which does not represent the 
advertiser — The highest type of agency 
sells service to its customers — The best 
system of compensation — The four definite 
functions of the advertising agency of the 
fourth type — The advertising agent a 
trustee of the customers' money — The 
agency of the highest type will advise 
against advertising if advertiser is not 
ready for it. 

CHAPTER XXIX 

How Much More Can Be Given the Con- 
sumer? ... 293 

Advertising makes the dollar larger — The 
Iowa hen is a paradox — Our wasteful dis- 
tributive system — Through advertising the 
consumer gets luxuries at the price of 
necessities— Scientific merchandising bene- 
fits greatly both producer and consumer — 
When big business men compete intelli- 
gently in advertising the consumer will be 
best served — Misapplied energy is the 
greatest economic waste. 



INTRODUCTION 

In the spring of 1910, Dr. Willard It. Hotchkiss 
asked me to take an evening class in Advertising 
at the School of Commerce, which the Northwestern 
University had just established in Chicago. 

Grouping the subject matter under ten heads, I 
devoted one evening to the discussion of each 
and the class was encouraged to ask questions 
freely. 

The chapters which follow were based upon notes 
made at these classroom talks and from lectures 
delivered before the Universities of Chicago, Wis- 
consin, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wash- 
ington. 

The second edition of "Advertising — Selling the 
Consumer" is practically identical in purpose and 
scope with the first. Some of the chapters in the 
first edition have been replaced by editorials on 
merchandising which I wrote for James Keely, 
editor of the Chicago Herald. As he published 
them in January, 1916, under his own copyright, his 
permission to use them here is duly acknowledged. 

It is gratifying to note the growing demand for 
this kind of a book which is an attempt to intro- 
duce to earnest, thoughtful men a work which is 



xxvi INTRODUCTION 

constructive and fascinating and is rapidly becom- 
ing a profession worthy of the best minds. 

To give due acknowledgment to all who have 
helped me in this work would require a volume 
larger than the book itself. Nearly thirty years of 
business experience and close contact with successful 
men in every part of the United States have developed 
the ideas which justify presentation and preserva- 
tion in this form. 

John Lee Mahin. 

New York City, 
April 15, 1916. 



ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 



CHAPTER I 

ADVERTISING CAN APPEAL ONLY TO FREE DOLLARS 

THE dollar that buys the absolute essentials — 
food, clothing, and shelter — is a mortgaged 
dollar. It must be spent, because the posses- 
sion of these things is absolutely necessary to exist- 
ence. 

But even these necessities must be merchandised 
to free dollars if design, style, location, or the form 
and manner of delivery are determining factors in 
making specific purchases of them. 

Clothing is commonly regarded as a need. Yet a 
considerable percentage of the clothing business is 
created by a merchandising instinct which develops 
the want which it wishes to supply. 

Nothing is more artificial than that something 
which we call style. Style entirely upsets the 
economist's theory that wealth is the product 
of raw material and labor. A smart hat to-day 
contains the same amount of raw material and 
labor that it did two years ago, or will two years 
hence. But it was commercially impossible two 
years ago, and will be impossible two years from 
now. 



4 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Why? The value of the hat depends entirely 
upon whether or not it is "in style." It is "in style" 
if a large enough number of women can 
of r styie is be induced to think it is. Changes in 
Salesman^ s tyle are controlled by the merchandising 
ability of men and women who profit finan- 
cially by these frequent changes. Styles are created 
by those in position to benefit by their acceptance. 
The ability to create style and get it accepted is 
a subtle form of salesmanship worthy of careful study. 

The freest dollars in the world are those con- 
stantly being paid to the individual worker. They 
No One Is are the dollars that are spent only when the 
Compelled workers choose. They are not needed to 

a Free provide f ood, shelter, or raiment. They may 

Dollar k e deposited in the bank or used to gratify 
whims. Most of the "necessities" for which they 
are spent are fancied rather than actual. 

When we say "big business" we think of oil, 
tobacco, beer, moving pictures, newspapers, auto- 
mobiles. But who can say that any of these kinds 
of business have been built up by dollars which the 
consumer had to spend? 

It may seem paradoxical, but it is certain that 

the most strongly entrenched businesses are those 

The Free which give the consumer's dollars back 

Dollar to him if he is not thoroughly satisfied 

Builds . . . . - 

Big with his purchase. 
Business K t k e merchandising of the savings 
habit were directed as intelligently and prosecuted 



ADVERTISING APPEALS TO FREE DOLLARS 5 

as vigorously as is the merchandising of chewing 
gum, 554i out of every 1,000 (the percentage for 
Switzerland) citizens of the United States would 
have savings accounts, instead of our present poor 
showing, which is only 99 out of every 1,000. 

The choice of the possessor of the "free dollar" 
is the determining factor. 

In disposing of the mortgaged dollar the consumer 
merely hands over to the producer and distributor 
money for the necessaries of life — having 
sumer En- no great amount of satisfaction in their 
^Culf'Td P ossess * on — because he has to have them. 
But the producer or distributor who wants 
to get the attention of and sell to the free dollar has 
to make the consumer positively and actively want 
what he has to sell. 

The consumer has to be "sold" the things he 
spends his free dollars for. The capture of the free 
dollar calls for more in the way of inventive genius, 
organizing ability and persistently skillful catering 
to the whims, fancies, and sentiments of human 
beings than anything else in the world. 

I cannot see how we can escape two conclusions: 
(1), that the American people do not need to put 
a curb on any big business which appeals directly 
to free dollars; and (2), that any attempt to build a 
business on the mortgaged dollar alone has within 
itself elements which will finally destroy it. 

For some time Chicagoans have been watching 
the career of a politician who could go back to his 



6 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

constituents every two years, appealing to a free 
ballot, and secure power, prestige, and preeminence 
— because he was willing to stand that test con- 
tinually. This same man made a dismal failure of 
banking, because he tried to apply to it an entirely 
different set of principles. The best bank depends 
upon no political pull for its deposits and considers 
only genuine merit in making loans. 

There is business that can become a parasite, 

clinging to large, successful enterprises, because 

somebody thinks that a mortgaged dollar 

Parasites . i i i i i i p 

Live on is as valuable and as serviceable as a tree 
M Doia 9 s d one * Many firms do all their own print- 
ing, because they are erroneously supposed 
to save money in that way. An unbiased audit 
and a correct division of overhead expenses generally 
show that these excrescences are unprofitable. 

The practice of business reciprocity, i. e., trading 
back and forth, has such a hold on some communities 
that practically all the consumer's dollars are mort- 
gaged. 

The retailer who believes that his store ought to 
be "supported" because he pays taxes and spends 
his money at home is in a wrong mental attitude for 
successfully combating mail-order competition, or 
even for establishing his own business upon a service- 
to-the-consumer basis. Cities which give free sites 
or bonuses to manufacturing institutions are doing 
an injury to the consumer, who must finally pay the 
cost of all economic waste. A business which can- 



ADVERTISING APPEALS TO FREE DOLLARS 7 

not exist without such an artificial stimulus is not 
profitable to any community. 

The publisher who asks for "patronage" instead 

of merchandising his service on its merits and re- 

little fusing any income which is not made up 

Businesses f f ree dollars, is well started on his own 

Die on 

Mortgaged toooggan. lne merchant who encourages 

Dollars j ong crec jit s , believing that he can thus 
force his customers to buy things they would not 
buy otherwise, is making them less valuable to them- 
selves and is, therefore, curtailing the ultimate ex- 
pansion of his business. 

Twenty-three years ago it was supposed that the 

wholesale clothing business had to give credits of 

. from four to nine months. The best 

ness Thrives known clothing house in the world (located 

%Jl™ s m Chicago) started out by giving cash 
discounts of 7 per cent. This firm soon 
secured the best dealers, those who discounted their 
bills, and has built up a tremendous volume of busi- 
ness, having practically no accounts to carry now. 

As soon as the executives of this firm were sure 
that advertising was the most economical form of 
salesmanship they began to advertise. Within 
fifteen years advertising multiplied their volume by 
ten. Their selling expense is lower than that of 
their competitors, because their salesmen (the best 
paid in the trade) put all their time on selling and 
let the advertising do the missionary and follow-up 
work. 



8 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Business has been bad in the farm implement 

line where long credits to the farmer and to the 

The Auto- dealer have been carried by the manufac- 

dustry turer. Yet one man in every fifteen in 
Thn p r s J n Iowa owns an automobile — and from the 

Dollars beginning the manufacturer of automobiles 
has insisted on having cash before surrendering title 
to his car. 

When the consumers' dollars are free and he and 
she have in the bank money with which to make 
purchases, the reflex is best not only on the con- 
sumer's mind but also on the service furnished by 
the retailer and manufacturer. 

The manufacturer who advertises can appeal 
only to the free dollar. The consumer who will 
take any butter that the dealer chooses to send 
her, when she orders butter, is buying with a mort- 
gaged dollar; but if she asks for and insists upon 
having a particular brand of butter, wrapped in a 
dainty, sanitary carton, an advertised make whose 
quality she knows and can depend upon, she is 
spending a free dollar. In the first case she is 
merely supplying herself with a necessity; in the 
second instance she is making a choice; her purchase 
is the result of a want created in her mind by the 
advertising effort of the maker of that particular 
brand of butter. She can at all times decide whether 
or not she will buy, in response to the adver- 
tiser's suggestion. The man who advertises knows 
this. 



ADVERTISING APPEALS TO FREE DOLLARS 9 

Big business is possible only so long as it appeals 
to the free dollar. Big business has been criticised. 

The Free Sometimes the muckrakers and agitators 
Is ^he^Con- were r ig nt — sometimes the dominant spirits 

sumer's of big business have forgotten that the 

Greatest , j» n i • i • • .• 

Protection basis oi all big business is continuous ap- 
and the Ad- p ea j j. Q free dollars, and never the arbi- 

vertiser s x . , . 

RealOppor- trary, autocratic use of the power which 
my the free dollar has placed in their hands. 
The consumer is best served by the man who will 
study his needs, the man who will expect to attain 
and hold supremacy and preeminence only by appeal- 
ing always to the consumer's free dollars, by the man 
who will use in the upbuilding, development, and 
maintenance of his position all that modern mer- 
chandising has proved to be efficient. 

Advertising gives a manufacturer power to pro- 
duce trade for the thing he is best equipped to 
make. It eliminates competition. It creates, forces, 
persuades, builds. It makes things happen. It is so 
many-sided that it deserves the attention of each de- 
. . partment of every business organization. 
Makes Advertising produces desire; gratified desire 
F Smdl P r °duces habit ; and habit produces business. 
Capital It does more. It makes sales. The 
duced brainy salesman gets a larger field for use- 
Sdling f u l ness anc [ m0 re pay when he cooperates 
with advertising, and while making more 
money for himself reduces the cost of selling which 
includes both personal salesmanship and advertising. 



10 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The man who advertises gets along on less capi- 
tal and saves on interest charges. That is because 
a business which advertises is produced more by creat- 
ing business conditions than by adapting its affairs 
entirely to them. 

Advertising is not material substance. It is ser- 
vice. The true advertiser and the advertising man 
never forget that space is less important 

Not^ 19 than service. Ideas are paramount. The 
Material p Ur p se of an advertisement should be clear 

Substance , , « . 

butSer- and definite. It must be kept in mind 
m Group constantly during the planning and execu- 
tion of the details by which it is to be 
affected. Space, type, words, and pictures are merely 
tools which the master workman uses in expressing 
an idea. The finished work of an advertiser is not 
a material substance which can be seen with eyes and 
touched with hands, but a definite, positive impres- 
sion in the minds of possible buyers which is reflected 
in the voluntary purchase of the goods which the ad- 
vertiser wishes to sell. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER I 

"Advertising as a Business Force," 1913 (Double- 
day, Page & Company, Garden City, N. Y.), and 
"The Advertising Book," 1915, are up-to-the-minute 
reviews and compilations by Paul Terry Cherington, 
instructor in commercial organization in the Gradu- 
ate School of Business Administration, Harvard 
University. They deserve careful study because 



ADVERTISING APPEALS TO FREE DOLLARS 11 

they show how present-day advertising impresses a 
thoughtful onlooker. 

"The Science of Advertising," 1910 (Duffield & 
Company, New York), by Edwin Balmer, with the 
counsel of Thomas Balmer, is a book of illuminating 
analysis based on concrete experiences and estab- 
lished principles. It is both informative and thought 
stimulating. 

"The Library of Advertising," seven volumes, 
1911 (Cree Publishing Company, Chicago), compiled 
by A. P. Johnson, presents the views of sixty-four 
men who have made good in the various phases of 
advertising. As a whole, the books contain much 
valuable information, and will give the student food 
for thought for some time if he attempts to reconcile 
conflicting opinions. 

"Modern Advertising," 1905 (D. Appleton & Com- 
pany, New York), by Calkins and Holden, contains 
much illuminating historical matter, and was up to 
date in every particular when it was printed. The 
advance in the advertising business within ten 
years can be measured by reading it carefully, and 
comparing it with "The Advertising Business" by 
Earnest Elmo Calkins (D. Appleton & Company, 1915). 

A well-equipped advertising library would contain 
all the issues of Printers' Ink (weekly), Advertising 
and Selling (monthly), the Mail Order Journal 
(monthly), and Standard Advertising (monthly). 
These publications must be read regularly, if one is 
to keep up to date. They cover the field admirably. 



CHAPTER II 

HOW MARKETS BENEFIT BOTH CONSUMER AND 
PRODUCER 

A GRAPHIC demonstration of the value of 
markets is given any man who hunts big 
game in the Canadian wilds. His day's 
labor, to use the economist's phraseology, goes into 
the transportation of himself and his supplies. 

Possibly only a few miles are covered each day. 

There are no mills or factories at which he could 

market his labor for money with which 

kets Based to buy transportation, at two cents a mile 

on the on s team railroads, or five cents for as 

(Jrowp 

many as eight miles on street cars. Rail- 
roads and street cars are markets where transporta- 
tion is offered for sale. Neither are there stores 
close at hand, to supply him with clothing, nor 
hotels — which market shelter and food. He carries 
his physical strength and his brain with him into 
the woods, but he can scarcely command sustenance 
with them. The nearer the laborer lives to highly 
developed markets, the greater the variety and abun- 
dance of comforts and luxuries his output will com- 
mand. 

12 



BENEFIT CONSUMER AND PRODUCER 13 

It is no uncommon experience for a man to find 
food -products selling, in the section where they are 
produced, for the same price they bring on South 
Water Street, Chicago. This is because South 
Water Street is a highly developed and specialized 
market. Fruits and vegetables flow to it as naturally 
as the magnetic needle points to the North Pole. 

The producer of merchandise must also arrange 
for displaying it in places to which he can constantly 
draw the patronage of a group of persons of similar 
tastes and habits and adequate purchasing power. 

A market is simply a group of purchasers who reg- 
ularly seek the same type of goods. 

The numerical strength of the buying group is a 
most important factor in the service that the market 
is able to render to the individuals comprising it. 

A lawyer, physician, or architect may have unsur- 
passed ability, knowledge, and training, but without 
Professional a group of people who appreciate and will 

Services pa y f r his work, his capacity for service 

Enhanced i " , . r " _ T 

by the benefits neither himself nor others. He 
Group must find a market for what he can deliver 
— a group of people who think alike to the extent 
that they appreciate and value his work and possess 
the means to purchase it from him. The larger the 
group he serves, the more expert he becomes, and 
the more he can charge for his services without con- 
tracting his market to a point where his full output, 
in time and energy, would not be entirely used. 

A bank is a market that sells the use of money. It 



14 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

does not sell money itself, but merely the service 
rendered by money. It buys the use of other people's 
money by acting as custodian of it, or in some cases 
by paying a smaller rent to depositors for their money 
than is charged those who borrow it. 

The larger the groups of depositors and borrow- 
ers, the larger the market, i. e., the bank. Deposi- 
tors think alike in that they possess confidence in the 
bank as a buyer of the use of their money; borrowers 
think alike in preferring to rent money from a particu- 
lar bank. 

The market for a young man's ability grows as 

rapidly as the number of employers increases who 

know he possesses the qualities they esteem 

a Young i n an employee. The possibility of profit- 

^ n ' s ing by his market is governed in part by his 
ability to think accurately and to make his 
thoughts control his acts. Even if his competitors 
are many, he can, unless the number greatly exceeds 
the demand, or he concedes equality by joining a 
labor union, or admits that the buyer's estimate of 
his value is better than his own, command a better 
price than others who apparently perform the work as 
well as he is capable of doing. 

It is this ability to get others to accept one's own 
estimate of value that is called salesmanship. It 
differentiates the highly successful from the ordinary 
and mediocre. It is the only power the individual 
has by which to develop a degree of influence which 
approaches control of his market. 



BENEFIT CONSUMER AND PRODUCER 15 

When we come to consider the manufacturer who 

caters to an established market, we find that price is a 

The Buyer powerful factor. Price is not a measure 

Expert of intrinsic value, but it is the determinant 

Judge of w h en the buyer has a choice of products 

/ 72X7*2 7ZSZC 

Values that are apparently of equal merit. 

Economies in production, due to the development 
of the factory system, have made price an important 
factor in the control of markets. But a low price 
will not cause the buyer to select the cheaper of two 
articles unless he is also convinced that they are of 
the same quality. 

It is not safe for the producer to make price a de- 
termining factor, unless the thought of equal quality 
is constantly associated with it. 

Few consumers buy on the basis of intrinsic value. 
Sentiment, rather than logic, is the impulse in most 
purchases of the consumer. It is right that this 
should be so, because satisfaction is a sentiment. 
The measure of value in all commercial transactions 
is the satisfaction to the buyer. 

If a woman thinks she wants an exact duplicate 
of the sewing machine her mother used twenty-five 
years ago, she would be much better sat- 
is the Basis isfied with it than she would with the latest 
of Satis- moc iel, unless she is first "sold" on the 

faction ' 

improvements in the new machine, and is 
convinced that her mother would have preferred the 
modern article if she could have seen it. The wise 
salesman says less about mechanical features, as 



16 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

such, and more about how much work the new ma- 
chine would have saved her mother. This makes the 
present-day purchase satisfactory, and valuable to 
the buyer because it is satisfactory. 

The purchasing power of a dollar has been in- 
creased enormously by manufacturers who compete 
on a price basis. But price competition, without re- 
sponsibility to the consumer for quality, is disas- 
trous to both the maker and the consumer. 

Price competition, with full responsibility to the 
consumer, conserves the manufacturer's self-respect 
and is truly service to the consumer. 

But the manufacturer who lets another make his 
prices for him, and meets this condition by cheapen- 
ing the quality, destroys his own self- 

Follows respect and positively injures the consumer 
r Pr i c u- by greatly increasing the cost of service 
to him. This is always the case where 
merchandise fails to measure up to a quality stand- 
ard. 

No shrewd business man defends competition 
based on price alone as advantageous either to con- 
sumer or producer. The whole service idea of a 
market is destroyed unless both producer and con- 
sumer are benefited. 

Competition on quality and on service widen the 
market and benefit both the final buyer and the 
producer. Competition on quality and service is 
impossible without salesmanship. No salesman is 
required to move goods on a price basis. But expert 



BENEFIT CONSUMER AND PRODUCER 17 

salesmanship is absolutely essential where the con- 
sumer has to be taught to appreciate quality and 
where a market has to be developed and service 
maintained. 

It is the introduction of salesmanship into mar- 
kets that has greatly broadened their scope and has 
given to those who employed it the greatest degree of 
influence. Hence it has become almost an axiom 
that the man who can make sales in the market is a 
much more important factor than the man who 
produces the goods. 

No salesman is worthy of the name until, by giv- 
ing satisfactory service, he has developed a group 
The Sales- °^ cus t° mers who accept his judgment as 

man's superior to their own. 

Must Be The organization and maintenance of 
Respected ^ s g roU p constitute the whole value of 
the salesman. With a group behind him, he has a 
much surer position in the market than the producer 
has, who must either take any price offered or em- 
ploy the services of a salesman. The ideal condition, 
for the producer, is to develop within himself the 
ability to get and hold a group of buyers to whom his 
name is a guarantee of satisfaction. 

The men who influence or control the market are 
the men who individually profit most by contact 
with it. 

For instance, the Chicago Board of Trade and the 
New York Stock Exchange are highly developed 
markets for traffic in the public's savings. The men 



18 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

wlio manipulate are the real money-makers. They 
take toll from the farmer and the maker of securities. 
They charge the buyer for the privilege of buying. 
Yet they unquestionably render a service to the 
general public. An uncontrolled market reflects 
caprice, fear, or overconfidence — all factors that 
retard rather than develop real service to producer 
and consumer. 

Some years ago a speculator on the Chicago Board 
of Trade noticed that wheat was being shipped out 

Market °^ the United States, and he was sure that 
Control a within a few months it would be needed 

making here to prevent famine. His purchases 
Occupation arrested exports. As it was, he caught 
Kansas wheat on its way to our Atlantic ports. 
Eventually it was shipped back to Kansas flour mills. 
Had he not controlled the market, this wheat would 
have been exported. Its return to us would have 
entailed a vast amount of otherwise unnecessary 
labor and expense, and would have sent the price of 
flour to almost prohibitive figures. 

A ready market which yields cash to the farmer 
increases his purchasing power. His day's work 
buys more for him than he could get by exchanging 
his produce for the product of another's unsupervised 
labor. 

Market control can be harmful, but only when 
the man in power abuses the confidence reposed in 
him. And if he does, he will ultimately fail. Con- 
trol is better than chaos, and most leaders recognize 



BENEFIT CONSUMER AND PRODUCER 19 

that they must maintain the confidence of the group 
which makes their position possible. 

A bad man anywhere — in the pulpit, on the 
bench, in Congress, or in business — does harm. But 
the control of markets by men who may have no 
other purpose than making money benefits the pub- 
lic. Men who exercise power must be forced to ac- 
cept responsibility for what they do. Publicity will 
insure this. 

Because our markets are so large, we scarcely 

realize how dependent upon each other producers 

and consumers are. The processes of 

Will Cor- distribution are so involved that consumer 

Evilfof ano - P r °ducer seldom come into personal 

Market contact. The middleman — the man who 

influences and often controls the market — 

sometimes exacts more than his service is worth. 

I believe that this condition can be largely done 

away with. 

First, the producer must recognize his responsi- 
bility to the consumer. He can never do this if he 
considers price only. 

The Welch Grape Juice Company paid $10 per 
ton for grapes in 1897, and $35 in 1914. They have 
paid a constantly increasing price because they 
wanted better grapes, so as to maintain the highest 
possible standard of quality in Welch's Grape Juice. 

I know of farms in Iowa that are now worth three 
and four times their original value per acre, because 
their owners have been taught how to raise better 



20 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

cucumbers, cucumbers that bring a higher price in 
the market. The H. J. Heinz Co. has gladly paid 
the higher price, because they can give the consumer 
a better quality of pickles. 

In 1914 Armour & Company paid nearly three 
times as much for live cattle as they did twenty- 
five years before. Railroads and packers operate 
on smaller margins. The farmer got the increased 
price. Volume explains the increased earnings 
which made internal economies possible. 

A feeling of responsibility prompts the producer 

to lend his name to his product, because it protects 

the consumer. Loyal consumer groups 

Should Pre- built up in this way constitute the finest 

fer Goods mar k e ts in the world, because they are 

Producer's controlled by the man who created them. 

^j£ A manufacturer can determine what his 

market costs him, by subtracting his sell- 
ing price from the price to the consumer. 

An underwear manufacturer who gets $7 per dozen 
suits pays $5 to the men who control the market if 
the consumer pays $12 for them. By directing how 
this $5 shall be spent, it is possible for the producer 
to exercise control in the market, to give increased 
service to the distributor who cooperates in the more 
economical plan of distribution, and to the consumer. 
He can do this without increasing the price to the 
consumer. 

A manufacturer who has no control in the market 
in which his goods are distributed is in danger, and 



BENEFIT CONSUMER AND PRODUCER 21 

surely should find out at once what salesmanship and 

advertising could do for him and for his real customer, 

The the consumer. The consumer should and 

Dangerous w {\\ welcome the producer's advertised ac- 

Positwnof £ - . 

Some if an- ceptance of responsibility for quality and 
ufacturers t k e serv i ce f or w hich he pays. 

As I will show in later chapters, I do not advocate 
any radical change in market conditions, but I do 
know and am sure I will prove that a distributor 
serves best himself and all with whom he comes in 
contact by concentrating on distribution. Manu- 
facturers who will not accept responsibility for the 
quality of their product, and those who fail to let 
the consumer know, by advertising, that they do, 
are giving competition a chance to manipulate mar- 
ket conditions, to the detriment of producer, dis- 
tributor, and consumer. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER II 

Mr. George E. Roberts, formerly Director of the 
Mint, and now Assistant to the President of the 
National City Bank of New York, has clearly ex- 
pounded the value of accumulated wealth to or- 
ganized society in an article entitled "The Invest- 
ment Fund." 

Mr. Roberts demonstrates conclusively that there 
would be no advantage in the private ownership 
of capital unless there were well-organized groups of 
borrowers to make use of it. 

The benefit to the borrowers in having access 



22 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

to accumulated capital in the form of "The Invest- 
ment Fund" is exactly the same as the individual 
in his dual relation of producer and consumer to 
organized markets. 

Mr. Roberts pertinently says: "If it is admitted 
that all the members of the community as con- 
sumers derive benefits from the increasing production 
of goods, let us now turn and see how much benefit 
the capitalist derives from owning the equipment. 
Can he absorb any benefits except in the same 
capacity, i. e., as a consumer? Evidently not. It 
is true that he will probably consume on a larger 
scale than his employee. He may live in a larger 
house, keep an automobile, travel abroad, and spend 
more on his table and in many other ways. But 
these expenditures, representing consumption, in- 
clude the only part of his income that is devoted to 
himself. All the rest of it is added to the invest- 
ment fund, in which it is now agreed the entire com- 
munity is interested." 

Mr. Roberts will send copies of "The Investment 
Fund " to any reader of this book who writes him direct. 

In various speeches before the Interstate Com- 
merce Commission, 1901-1911, Louis D. Brandeis 
constantly inveighed against any increase in railroad 
rates, claiming that the railroads could increase their 
profits by eliminating useless motion. His book, 
"Other People's Money" (Frederick A. Stokes Com- 
pany, New York, 1914), is a most interesting study 
of leadership in the creation ar«d manipulation of 



BENEFIT CONSUMER AND PRODUCER 28 

groups in American business life during the past 
twenty years. Not many persons will accept at 
par all that Mr. Brandeis says, but the story of this 
man's business career is well worth the attention of 
every student of advertising. His optimism is re- 
freshing. He believes in the people, in their good 
judgment when facts are placed before them, and 
in their capacity for proper action when the reasons 
are explained. He expects that new leaders will arise 
who will accomplish great things for all of us by an 
appeal to the group spirit. Mr. Brandeis affirms 
that power to dominate a group can be retained only 
so long as its individual members truly profit thereby. 
The following quotation is a characteristic sum- 
ming up of his views as to the value of markets and 
the effect of publicity upon them: 

"Every great distributor of merchandise knows 
the obstacles which he had to overcome before suc- 
cess was attained; and the large sums that had to 
be invested in opening and preparing a market. 
Individual concerns have spent millions in wise 
publicity, and have ultimately reaped immense prof- 
its when the market was won. Cities must take 
their lessons from these great distributors. Cities 
must be ready to study the problem and to spend 
prudently for proper publicity work." 

Van Antwerp's "Stock Exchange from Within" 
(Doubleday, Page & Co.) explains fully how the 
control of the Stock Exchange market makes for 
stability and public advantage. 



CHAPTER III 

SALESMANSHIP IS SERVICE 

TO EVERY human being comes the opportu- 
nity and the responsibility for salesmanship. 
None of us can achieve success without the 
cooperation of others. 

The successful parent does not say to his child, 
"Never do that again!" with the added inference 
"because I say that you must not." Instead, the 
wise father "sells" his ideas and ideals to his child, 
thereby getting intelligent and enthusiastic coopera- 
tion. 

That man will surely be a failure who will not make 
the effort necessary to get others to accept his views 
about matters on which he needs their help. 
ceed as None of us can be absolutely independent. 

T Ableto 6 ^° ^ e aD * e to S et others to accept your 
Indwe ideas about something which benefits you 
Accept (and fair play demands that you share this 
Views Denem ^ with them) is the essence of sales- 
manship. 
Ability and ability to sell it = success. Salesman- 
ship is the ability to persuade others to accept you 
at your own estimate, the estimate upon which you 

£4 



SALESMANSHIP IS SERVICE 25 

can continue to "make good." This is as precise a 
definition of salesmanship as I am able to frame. As 
applied to merchandise, it needs only a change of 
terms, not of essence. 

Salesmanship is persuading your man to buy what 
you have to sell at a price which means permanent 
satisfaction to him and a profitable compensation for 
you. 

Advertising is organized salesmanship. As the 

modern shoe factory has supplanted the cobbler, 

so the use of words, pictures, type, printing 

^tch^an- plates, paper, and printers' ink have given 

ized Sales- to salesmanship an impetus, a scope, and a 

dominion which it could never have had 

otherwise. 

Any one who has the selling instinct, and a reason- 
able amount of experience, can increase the value of 
his own service and that of the goods he handles, 
by just the amount of time, thought, and energy 
he puts into selling them. 

To many men the word "selling" means un- 
necessary inflation of prices, an added tax upon the 
The Most consumer » an d taking advantage of the 
Successful ignorance of buyers. The trend of modern 

Salesman i j i • i_ • x. • ±. 

is He Who sa l es development, however, is to give to 
Gives His ^ ne buyer more and more actual service. 

Customer 

the Most The only salesman who may feel safely 
emce entrenched is the one who makes sure that 
everything he does counts in service to the con- 
sumer. By adapting his merchandise to the needs of 



26 ADVERTISED— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

his trade, he can easily build for himself a substantial 
following. If he will study their individuality, he 
can influence the mental attitude of prospective 
purchasers with regard to the articles which make 
up his employer's stock. Unless he can do this, un- 
less he can create for himself a clientele which will 
come back to him again and again, his employer can- 
not afford to keep him. 

Obviously the state of mind of the purchaser is a 
weighty factor in determining the value of the article 
he buys. For example — the intrinsic worth of mil- 
linery does not change at all from year to year; but 
its value fluctuates constantly, because fashion, 
which is the mental attitude of the buying group, 
changes. 

A certain salesman sells you a hat, a suit of clothes, 
or a piece of furniture in such a way that it affords 
you a great deal more satisfaction than 
T tdli ent wou ^ tne same article bought from another 
Salesman salesman. Some who pretend to be sales- 
ThMExT men lose sales because they do not know 
Responsi- ] low j- p resen t to the prospective purchaser 

butty Does m m ^^ m 

Not End the merits of then* wares. The intelligent 
^Sall salesman knows that we all buy things be- 
f cause the possession of them gives us a 
definite kind of satisfaction; he knows, too, that lack- 
ing a convinced state of mind with reference to the 
article purchased, there can be no satisfaction. 

The salesman's opportunity to give the customer 
actual service becomes more apparent when we con- 



SALESMANSHIP IS SERVICE 27 

sider the selling of a kitchen range, a sewing machine, 

or an automobile. Here he can demonstrate to the 

prospective purchaser that the construc- 

The tion and method of operation of the range, 

That Mer- sewing machine, or automobile will give 

C More ^t- n * m economical and adequate service. In 

tractive the last analysis, the man who buys an 

Than the . i m 1 i pi 

Goods automobile buys so many hours 01 pleasur- 
able transportation, or so many miles of 
dependable locomotion. It is certain that the sales- 
man who teaches the buyer how to use his automobile 
to the best advantage increases its life and materially 
decreases the cost per hour or per mile of the service 
purchased. 

The traveling salesman who calls on dealers eventu- 
ally becomes a competent counsellor on merchandis- 
Merchan- in g> financing, and trade-building. One 
dise Plus sees why a dealer might pay such a man 

J\ nvi/*p nun 

Ideas More] more for merchandise than he would pay 
Valuable to ano ther, and still be better off both in 

Than Mer- ' 

chandise the matter of aggregate sales and profits, 

Alone j , i 

and more permanent business. 

The salesman has made himself indispensable who 

knows he earns, in positive service to the buyer, 

every cent he receives from his employer. He will 

never be laid off. Every salesman who aspires to 

be something more than a necessary link between 

buyer and seller must realize that his salary and 

expenses are included in every sale he makes, and that 

he is either a burden or a benefit to the consumer. 



28 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The clerk who renders the buyer definite service, 
and has this clearly in mind has taken the first step 
toward something better. Once the elements of his 
own service to the buyer are clearly outlined, he is 
fired with ambition to do just such work for more 
buyers — more than he can wait upon personally. 
This means that he soon needs assistants to whom 
he may delegate a share of his duties. 

To such men advertising appeals. They see its 
relationship to modern business methods. 
A , .. Advertising is systematized selling. Pros- 

Advertxsing . i . a 1 • 

Is Service pective purchasers are influenced m groups. 

rffrSE" They may not be aware that ihey are 
reded at a being reached and influenced in a whole- 
sale way and that the force which is chang- 
ing their mental attitude is accomplishing similar 
results with many others at the same time. In 
fact, the chances are, if the advertising has been 
properly planned, that each individual will think he 
has been singled out for special attention; or, better 
still, that he has, without outside suggestion, decided 
himself to do this certain thing. 
Advertising The best salesman uses suggestion in his 
Should WO rk. He strives to leave with the pur- 
Desires chaser the impression that the article has 
fit the 6 ' been bought voluntarily, rather than that 
Consumer k e h as been persuaded to buy. He uses 
advertising in the same way. He values his self- 
respect (the one complete satisfaction), and would 
refuse to lend his ability to the furtherance of 



SALESMANSHIP IS SERVICE 29 

any plan which would not benefit the final pur- 
chaser. 

This does not mean that salesmanship and adver- 
tising cannot be, or have not been, used by men who 
did not have the welfare of their fellow men at heart. 
But it does mean that the man who analyzes his 
work, who studies his opportunities, who desires 
to attain for himself the best satisfactions and to 
keep his self-respect will use his ability to sell (and 
his powerful selling helper, advertising), for the good 
of all with whom he comes in contact. 

Men who have studied newspaper and magazine 

advertising for the last twenty-five years note with 

r> r,- t. great satisfaction the constantly increasing 

Publishers ° _ . .. . . .. _ ° 

Fast number of publishers who realize that ad- 
Thefr Z Re- vertising should serve rather than exploit 
sponsibitity the subscriber. Advertising space was or- 
iginally a by-product of the publishing 
business. The publisher looked primarily to the 
subscriber for his compensation and was concerned 
(1) with organizing a group of people who would take 
regularly and pay for his publication, (2) with col- 
lecting, writing, and illustrating the reading matter 
to be used, and (3) with the mechanical, financial, 
and executive problems which he must handle in the 
course of buying paper, putting the reading matter 
into type, turning the presses, and distributing the 
publications produced thereon. 

For many years advertising remained a mystery 
to publishers. They knew there were people ready 



30 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

to buy space. But most of them believed (since 
the reader knows that reading and advertising mat- 

Tk D ter are two se P ara ^ e things, the publisher 

ofAdvertis- being responsible for the former, and the 

% tery" and advertiser for the latter) that they (the 

Fake publishers) had no responsibility to the sub- 

Advertising . 

Fast ' scriber if the advertiser s name appeared 

assing beneath his announcement. 

This condition was a loophole through which the 
unscrupulous preyed upon and exploited the reader. 
All sorts of fake medical, disastrous financial, and un- 
reliable merchandising schemes were put upon the 
market, and they paid — in dollars and cents — because 
their authors possessed a shrewd knowledge of hu- 
man nature, and ability to write profitable advertis- 
ing copy. 

The general magazines are given credit for being 
the first to "clean up." But I know newspaper 
publishers, in both large and small cities, who for 
nearly half a century have refused to carry in their 
advertising columns the announcement of any busi- 
ness in which they would not be willing to engage. 

Publishers and advertisers are recognizing that 

the complete confidence of the subscriber is the one 

sure foundation on which to build a success- 

^ofAdver- ^ ma g azme > newspaper, or class publica- 

tising a tion. Anything which weakens it reduces 

S&rice* the publisher's capital. The reader may 
not be aware that his confidence has in- 
creased or diminished. But it is certain that depend- 



SALESMANSHIP IS SERVICE 31 

able, trustworthy news, editorial and advertising 
announcements, add to confidence slowly but con- 
stantly, and that unreliability cuts it down rapidly. 

Of late even the announcements of businesses which 
are thoroughly reliable are censored, to make certain 
that they contain nothing which in any wise reflects 
upon their competitors. Publishers take the stand 
that the buyer's confidence in advertising as a whole 
cannot be held if one advertiser is allowed to discredit 
another. 

This is a very encouraging development of the 
service idea, a most satisfactory indication that dur- 
ing the coming twenty-five years advertising is to 
be a much more important factor in reducing the cost 
of production and distribution, and in raising the 
standard of merchandise and human service, than it 
has been during the last quarter of a century. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER III 

Walter D. Moody's "Men Who Sell Things," 1907 
(A. C. McClurg & Company, Chicago) supplements 
this chapter admirably. It is inspiring, informative, 
and practical. 

In "Influencing Men in Business," 1911 (The 
Ronald Press Company, New York), Professor Walter 
Dill Scott, of Northwestern University, presents the 
results of scientific tests which bear out the conclu- 
sions reached by experienced and thoughtful sales- 
men. Professor Scott has written several other 
books. All of them deal with his method of testing 



S3 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

the laws of mental action in his laboratory, and the 
results he has observed. All are worth careful study. 

Mr. A. F. Sheldon has written much and thought- 
fully about salesmanship. He has made a sincere 
effort to segregate the various elements which pro- 
duce successful sales, and to explain the laws which 
govern them in a correspondence course (The Sheldon 
School, Chicago), which one is required to take in 
order to secure his text-books. 

Mr. Sheldon claims every sale takes place in the 
buyer's mind, and the processes through which his 
mind passes and which the successful salesman 
intelligently stimulates are (1) Attention, (2) In- 
terest, (3) Desire, (4) Conviction. Conviction auto- 
matically arouses the buying impulse to action, 
forcing the lips to say the words and the hands to 
open the purse strings and thus complete the sale. 
The Business Philosopher, published at Aera, Illi- 
nois monthly contains Mr. Sheldon's latest thoughts. 



CHAPTER IV 

HOW THE SALESMAN BECOMES A PRODUCER 

THE retailer's heaviest cost item is for labor. 
The largest part of distribution is labor. The 
big rewards in business go to the men who 
can plan, systematize and manage to get the maxi- 
mum result with a minimum of labor. The growth 
of a store which relies upon its sales force to educate 
each individual customer will be slow, and it will be 
limited by the ability or inability of the management 
to develop in its clerks salesmanship of the highest 
type. 

The man behind the counter should know the ad- 
vertising which his firm is doing; also he ought to 
Personal understand the advertising of trademarked 
Salesman- brands, nationally known, which are part 
hancedby of the stocks he sells. Many people who 
Advertising h ave considered advertising only super- 
ficially think, that it limits the opportunities of 
personal salesmanship. On the contrary, it increases 
them. Salesmanship is that quality in a man which 
enables him to get others to accept him at his own 
valuation. Every leader is a salesman. He has 
"sold" his group, which is the constant expression 

88 



34 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

of his power, on his ideas. Every merchant is a 
warehouseman plus the ability to bring to his store 
people who will accept his estimate of the value of 
the goods displayed there. 

Granted that what people think about what they 
buy is the most important factor in determining its 
value to them, ability to create a favorable state of 
mind must find a permanent place in every successful 
merchandising plan. Modern merchandising believes 
that the salesman's time is too valuable to be spent 
in doing work that an advertisement can do, and that 
the salesman who cooperates with advertising and 
specializes in doing those things which an advertise- 
ment cannot do is more efficient than the man who 
attempts to divide his activities. 

If we grant that present day business is a traffic 

in satisfactions, that goods are bought because the 

The Sales- purchaser has been put in and is maintained 

ma ducel°~ ln a f avora ^^ e state °^ mind regarding 
Satisfaction* them, then the work of the salesman must 

Vence of always be regarded as productive. 
Real Values Consider the retail shoe salesman as a 
case in point. The manufacturer selects his leather 
and decides upon a correct design. The shoes are 
made by his expert workmen and shipped to the 
jobber, who resells them to the retailer as a result 
of the business-building talks of the jobber's sales- 
man. 

But the shoes have not been sold until they have 
been fitted to the consumer's feet. There is nothing 



HOW SALESMAN BECOMES PRODUCER 35 

which calls for more judgment, tact, and actual ser- 
vice ability than does the fitting of a pair of 6-C 
shoes on a woman who asks for a S-A. No matter 
what the customer asks for, the salesman must 
see that she gets a shoe which will give her the 
satisfaction she honestly craves. He cannot do 
this as it [should be done if he deceives her in any 
way. 

A shoe that does not fit has back of it ail that its 

maker, the jobber and the retailer can do, just as 

has a shoe that gives absolute comfort and 

Show Are thorough satisfaction. The difference is 

Produced wholly a matter of salesmanship. It de- 

by Sales- " x 

men as Well pends upon whether or not an adjustment 
^makws 6 ' between the foot and the shoe has been 
properly made by the intelligence, tact 
and good judgment of the salesman. 

The consumer does not buy leather or labor when 
she buys shoes. The essence of her purchase is 
satisfactory service. The consumer buys satis- 
faction. The salesman delivers satisfaction. This 
makes him a producer. 

Some time ago, at an automobile manufacturer's 
sales meeting, the president of the company said 
that the best salesman they had ever had, the man 
who sold the most cars in any given period of time, 
had involved them in so many difficulties and adjust- 
ments that he was unprofitable. Half an hour later 
a North Carolina dealer was introduced by his field 
manager with this remark: "In this man's territory 



36 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

we never have any kicks, difficulties, troubles or 
adjustments." 

When it came my turn to talk I asked whether 

"the best salesman they had ever had" and the 

North Carolina dealer had handled the 

AutomL same model and design. Yes, the cars 

Hies Have were the same. Had the North Carolina 

Different dealer made any changes in the cars before 

Re Jl l ?~ he delivered them to his customers? No: 

lions 

he merely inspected them. 

It occurred to me that the difference must be in 
the state of mind of the purchasers. So I asked this 
dealer to tell me exactly how he sold his cars. His 
reply contained the concentrated essence cf suc- 
cessful salesmanship, and proved that the true sales- 
man is second to no other factor in production. 

He said: "I never allow a man to take a car off my 
floor until I am sure he knows how to run it and meet 
every emergency which might arise in its everyday use. 
The fact that he thinks he knows how to run it isn't 
enough for me — I've got to know that he knows." 

In working out merchandising plans for cus- 
tomers I have had many conferences with traveling 
salesmen and retail clerks, the object being 

Paper to "sell" them on the advantage to them 
Models °^ understanding and cooperating with 
Goods More the advertising plan installed in the busi- 
ness by which they were employed. Often 
I have told them stories cf my own experiences. 

When I managed a printing office in connection 



HOW SALESMAN BECOMES PRODUCER ST 

with a newspaper which my father and I owned in 
Iowa I bought all paper from one salesman, who 
offered me nothing better in price or quality than 
did at least eight others who called on me regularly. 
This salesman was constantly on the lookout for 
me when he was visiting in other cities, finding out 
what merchants, manufacturers, doctors, dentists, 
lawyers, and commission men were using in the way 
of printed matter. Whenever he could get hold of 
them he mailed me samples, which gave me ideas 
with which to solicit people in the same line of busi- 
ness in our town. Most of them had never thought 
of using printing, but they were pretty generally 
interested in the specific suggestions I gave them. 

I could not escape the conclusion that this sales- 
man's goods were worth more to me than any com- 
petitive article of the same quality could be, even 
at a much lower price. 

A range manufacturer who started in business by 

selling stoves to farmers from a wagon in which he 

went from farm to farm told me how he 

A Dealer h ac | convinced a dealer in Bloomington, 

in Ranges T111 . , ,. , , • i * 

with 29 111., that price has little to do with sales. 

Y ZL£? This dealer was an old-time friend of his. 

Learm So when he began to manufacture ranges 

AteJ 71 ^ he sent the Bloomington dealer three of 

them. The dealer put them in the front 

of the store and instructed his clerks to show them 

to all callers. But at the end of twelve months he had 

sold only one. He wrote the manufacturer that the 



38 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

people of Bloomington would not pay such a high price 
for a range. He knew, because he had been in busi- 
ness there twenty-nine years and had the leading store. 
The manufacturer went to Bloomington. While 
he was in the store the first morning after his arrival 
a woman entered and asked to see a kitchen stove. 
A clerk led her to the two ranges in the front of the 
store. She asked the price. The clerk was about 
to tell her when the manufacturer stepped up and 
told her that she had never seen ranges like these 
before. He opened one of the oven doors, which 
dropped on hinges, and stood on it. He assured 
the woman that this range would be giving useful 
service long after she and he had been laid away. 
He kept telling her what the range would do. He 
knew that she was a good cook, for if she weren't 
she wouldn't be looking at such things as ranges 
herself. What he would like better than anything 
else, he told her, was to get her permission to install 
that range in her kitchen that day, so that she could 
give her husband the finest biscuits for supper that 
he had ever eaten. 

When she mildly questioned the possibility of 

What a having the range up in time to use it that 

'Range Will night he ordered the stove to be delivered 

Do and Not .... . 

What It immediately and said that he perspnally 
2£ VZ- would see that it was put up. 
mines lu Then she remembered that she had not 

Value pi it* tt 

yet found out what the price was. He 
told her that she would, of course, have to pay 



HOW SALESMAN BECOMES PRODUCER 39 

more for such a remarkable range than for just 
an ordinary one. But the difference was so little 
in consideration of the service she was going to get 
that he knew she would be glad to pay it. And she 
was. 

By using the local newspapers to bring people 
into the store to see a demonstration of the range in 
actual use this manufacturer in thirty days sold 
more than a carload of ranges for the dealer who 
had been unable to dispose of more than one in a 
year. 

I believe the best service is rendered where the 
salesman and the consumer who prefers to buy from 
him understand that it is the salesman's knowledge 
of what the customer needs that makes the goods he 
buys satisfactory. The consumer does not usually 
know this. Most buyers think they are using their 
own judgment, and they would scarcely admit that 
their favorite salesman knows better than they 
what will satisfy them. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER IV 

In a two-volume work, "Principles of Economics," 
1912 (The Macmillan Company, New York, F. W. 
Taussig), Henry Lee, Professor of Economics in Har- 
vard University, has defined the creative power of 
salesmanship in the clearest and most satisfactory 
manner (page 22, Vol. 1): "All those whose labors 
satisfy wants — all those who bring about satisfac- 
tion or utilities — are to be reckoned as taking part 



40 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

in production, and are to be called productive la- 
borers. , e , So long as a person who buys a 
thing or pays for a service really desires it, the labor 
which yields him the satisfaction is productive." 
These two volumes, in clear and concise English, 
are very easily read and will help you tremendously 
in clarifying your own convictions. Professor Taus- 
sig understands the group spirit, because he says 
(page 30, Vol. 1) ; "It is strictly true that the workers 
in a modern society combine in bringing about a 
joint output; but the consciousness of cooperation 
is lost." 

In "Concentration and Control," 1912 (the Mac- 
millan Company, New York City), Charles R. Van 
Hise, president of the University of Wisconsin, dis- 
cusses at considerable length the debasing effects of 
price competition as compared with the splendid 
results which the other two kinds of competition — 
namely, quality and service competition — get for us. 



CHAPTER V 

ADVERTISING IS SELLING THE GROUP 

GRANTED that a salesman is one who can get 
other people to accept his estimate of the 
value of the article he offers for sale (his 
valuation to include the value of the article itself 
plus the value of his service to the customer), how 
long do you think he will be content to appeal to 
only one buyer at a time? Certainly the moment he 
becomes aware of his ability he will want to accom- 
plish results in a larger and broader way. 

The distinction between a merchant and a store- 
keeper depends entirely upon the degree of sales- 
manship possessed by the former. Theo- 

Salesman- % ■ , " , 

ship Con- retically both handle goods for which there 
Storekeepers ex ists a buying demand, in a location which 
into i s convenient for the purchaser. A store- 
keeper becomes a merchant when he puts 
personality into his work and gathers about him a 
group of people who, consciously or unconsciously, 
accept as valuable his endorsement or recommenda- 
tion of what he offers them. Sometimes a certain 
store draws trade from a long distance past shops 
where equally desirable merchandise is to be had 

41 



42 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

for practically the same or even less money. That is 
because the purchaser is definitely influenced by the 
prestige of the merchant with whom he is accustomed 
to deal. 

A striking illustration of this fact was afforded me 

one day in Detroit. I noticed that next door to a 

Getting the cut-rate drug store was the drug section of 

Cor f/™ ce a large department store. In the latter I 

Group approached a saleswoman who appeared to 
Department- be of about average intelligence. I made 
store idea a sma ll purchase, and then asked her the 
price of Mennen's Talcum Powder. 

"Eighteen cents." 

"What," I ventured, "would you say if I should 
tell you that I can buy a box next door for 12 cents? " 

"That often happens. Our manager has told us to 
tell people that we don't know anything about the 
goods that are sold next door. We guarantee our 
Mennen's to be the genuine article, and a lady told 
me, a few days ago, that she wasn't going to buy any 
more of that cheap Mennen's, for she had used some 
on her baby and it had broken out with a rash, 
and that hereafter she will buy goods where she 
knows they are genuine." 

This is an extreme case. But it points out clearly 
that a department store is fundamentally and essen- 
tially the group of human beings whose confidence 
that store has won and is able to hold. 

We are all fortunate in being members of many 
social groups. Membership in the family group is 



ADVERTISING IS SELLING THE GROUP 43 

economically of inestimable value, and procures for 

us one of our most lasting satisfactions. As a rule 

_, n we are not conscious that we belong to 

The Group ° . 

Is Com- groups. We nave never thought about it. 
Those Who We are Democrats or Republicans, Prot- 

Think estants or Catholics, we are literary or 
athletic, we go in for opera or the "movies'' 
but quite without thinking of it as a group activity. 

We enjoy being with and cooperating with those 
who think as we do. But unless we take an active 
part in the administration of their affairs, we benefit by 
membership in clubs, churches, and other groups chiefly 
in that it relieves us of doing our thinking ourselves. 

Some philosophers, Le Bon and Nietzsche, for 

example, are of the opinion that human beings lose 

in individuality by herding in groups. Nietzsche 

believed that it is impossible for two or more 

VieZ by human beings to agree, unless one of them 

PhUoso- dominates the thought of the others. 

phers ° 

Le Bon outlines the process of influencing 
crowds as affirmation, repetition, and contagion. 
Neither one of these men sufficiently emphasizes the 
thought that we may enter or leave a group as we please. 
The man who does not interest himself in the affairs 
which concern the welfare of the city in which he 
Groups Are lives misses much of the pleasure of being 
Really Co- a citizen. Nor can he give his city the 

operative - r» <» i • • i p • i 

Organiza- benefit or his ideas for its betterment until 
he can secure the cooperation of his fellow- 
citizens. He cannot truly enjoy the fruits of coopera- 



44 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

tion unless he be a member of the cooperating or- 
ganizations. 

Every man should find in his own business enough 
to absorb the bulk of his time and creative energy. 
By regarding himself with relation to his own busi- 
ness as the trustee of a group of cooperative buyers, 
he can offer each member of the group better values 
at less individual outlay than would be called for 
should they buy individually. 

A large city is a concrete example of what the 

group idea, raised to the n th power, is worth. Our 

transportation facilities are creations of 

Cities, the cooperative spirit. Twenty-hour trains 

F l?ubtici™' between Chicago and New York are facts 

tions,Good because railroad officials know that each 

Examples i • .i . • i_ p 

f th e day in the year a certain number of men 
Grou ^ can be depended upon practically to 
charter a special train for the trip. Each 
passenger has the same physical comforts, luxuries, 
and speed that a special train could give him — plus 
a substantial saving on his ticket. Such trains are 
the highest development, at present, of cooperative 
service in steam transportation. 

Magazines, newspapers, and class publications 
offer the members of their groups definite savings. 
A technical engineering journal gathers and gives 
out to a large group of individuals who can make 
effective use of it, information which has been brought 
together by many individuals at a cost that would be 
prohibitive for any one member of the group. 



ADVERTISING IS SELLING THE GROUP 45 

Several farm papers keep scientific specialists at 
work on experiments, the results of which have 
largely increased the yield per acre and have de- 
creased the cost of farming. 

A daily newspaper delivers to one's home, for one 

cent, a complete canvass of the world by cable and 

telegraph, plus the local field, which is 

Convert- covered by many capable men. No one 

tenses, ^ i 1 • • 

Luxuries, person, no matter how large his income, 
° cation' could afford to duplicate this information 
Mode individually for his own pleasure or use. 
for AU Magazines have fostered a general ap- 
Be Qrouvs°^ P rec i a ti° n of art and have increased the 
ability of artists by giving them a market 
for their product. A similar statement might be made 
with regard to the writing of books. The average of 
culture and refinement has been materially raised, and 
men have been developed to cater to those new wants. 
The pulling force of the group idea is that mem- 
bership in any group is, in practically all cases, purely 
a matter of volition. No man need belong to the 
liquor-drinking or to the tobacco-consuming group 
unless he wishes. He may also withdraw from either 
group at will. Yet the business of fulfilling 
ship in the desires of these two groups represents an 
A Lar^a annual expenditure of $1,800,000,000 and 
Matter of $850,000,000 respectively. Another group 
makes it possible for publishers to do a 
$190,000,000 business in books and papers each 
year. 



46 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The coffee group drinks $300,000,000 worth of 

coffee annually. The butter group buys $694,000,000 

worth of butter, which is more than twice 

The the amount spent for bread, which aggre- 

Tremendous g ate s $300,000,000. I mention the bread 

Proportions ° 

of Certain group as more likely to be considered 

oups compulsory. Statistics show that the total 

expenditure for what are considered necessities is 

very small in comparison with that which is paid for 

luxuries. 

When a salesman realizes how small a part his 
personal sales are of the total consumption of the 
I Re h> P rocm cts ne seu s> he begins to see what 
ing Groups advertising may mean to him. No matter 
IfiSjS now man y assistants he may have, nor 
Salesman- how he may organize and systematize 
their work, to call personally on the num- 
ber of people whom he could persuade to prefer his 
product to that offered by others would be impos- 
sible. Realizing how little is needed to determine 
a preference in the purchaser's mind, he calls on 
advertising to help him develop a demand for the 
article he has to sell. 

The far-seeing salesman realizes that the safest 
and usually the best way to go through a forest 
is to follow a blazed trail. He knows that human 
beings have been grouped in many different ways; 
he believes a group can be formed for his product 
and that the best way to do it is to use groups al- 
ready in existence if he can adapt them to his purpose. 



ADVERTISING IS SELLING THE GROUP 47 

If the citizens of a small town call at the postoffice 
every day for their mail, they have that much in com- 

Outdoor mon anc * cons titute a group to which the 
Street-car, salesman can best appeal from a location 
Publication near the postoffice. If there is a public 
Advertising square in the centre of town, or any other 

peal to a place at which people have the habit of 

wp congregating, the value of a sign there is 

directly affected by the numerical strength of the 

group and by the purchasing power of its individual 

members. 

A street car is essentially a cooperative unit con- 
tributing five cents a traveler for transportation 
which must otherwise cost many times that amount. 
Lacking the group of customers, there would be no 
street car. Therefore, the street-car card appeals 
directly to the group spirit. 

A newspaper or magazine is an impossibility unless 
a well-organized group awaits with constant interest 
the knowledge which it is accustomed to receive 
through this particular channel. 

An advertisement in a magazine or a newspaper 
is effective in direct proportion to the degree to 
which it senses and touches the group idea which 
makes the publications possible. 

It has been said that the success of the late Ira D. 
Sankey was due to the fact that he took advantage 
of a universal group characteristic, sensitiveness 
to melody, and strengthened the appeal by using 
in the wording of his hymns the vernacular 



48 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

of the particular group to which Mr. Moody 

wished to present the Gospel truths. The "Ninety 

and Nine" was specifically directed at 

Keynote of sheep-raisers. "Pull for the Shore, Boys !" 

Harmon a i me d to & et an d hold the attention of the 

Brings citizens of a fishing village. 

loathe ^ n ^ e nianner the master salesman uses 

Salesman the trained writer of advertising copy and 

Writer of that particular medium which has ac- 

Ad me1ds e ~ knowledged prestige with the group to be 

reached, to sweep away the barrier which 

ignorance, prejudice, and indifference have placed 

between him and a large market for his wares. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER V 

The statistics quoted in this chapter and else- 
where in this book, unless otherwise noted, are from 
the "Mahin Advertising Book." This vest pocket 
volume contains lists of newspapers, magazines, and 
class papers with closing dates, circulations and 
maximum and minimum rates, also abridged data 
on Painting, Posting, and Street-cars such as a busy 
man likes to have constantly accessible. It is pub- 
lished by John Lee Mahin, New York, at $2 a copy. 

The "American Newspaper Annual and Direc- 
tory," published by N. W. Ayer and Son, Phila- 
delphia, at $5 a copy is a book of 1,290 pages and 
is the most complete presentation of practical au- 
thoritative advertising information available in one 
work. 



ADVERTISING IS SELLING THE GROUP 49 

"Adventures in Common Sense," "Just Human/* 
"Footnotes to Life," "War and World Government/' 
John Lane Company, New York; and "Human Con- 
fessions," "Lame and Lovely," "God and Democ- 
racy," "Business in Kingdom Come," Forbes and Co., 
Chicago, are books that can be profitably read by 
every advertising writer. 

They are written by Dr. Frank Crane whose daily 
editorials in a syndicate of American newspapers 
with over 5,000,000 circulation prove that a trained 
advertising writer can present every-day facts in a 
more interesting and plausible manner than one who 
is without special ability or experience along this line. 

For supplementary reading, "The Crowd" (The 
Macmillan Company, New York), by Gustave Le 
Bon, and "Crowds," 1913 (Doubleday, Page & Com- 
pany, Garden City, N. Y.), by Gerald Stanley Lee, 
are delightfully interesting. Both deal with the 
group spirit as exemplified in everyday life. Le 
Bon says that leaders form and dominate groups 
by processes which he calls" affirmation, repetition, 
and contagion." 

H. L. Mencken's "The Philosophy of Friederich 
Nietzsche," 1913 (Luce & Company, Boston), is a 
digest of the great philosopher's views. Nietzsche 
held that "Will to Power," which is identical with 
Schopenhauer's "Will to Live," is the first law of 
Nature. Nietzsche championed individuality, and 
contrasted it unfavorably with the herd idea which 
he condemned as being the means whereby the un- 



50 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

worthy are able to impose their will upon their 
superiors. His views are interesting because unusual. 

Maeterlink's "The Life of the Bee," 1912 (Dodd 
Mead Co., New York), is a model for every ad- 
vertising writer. It treats a thoroughly technical 
subject in a completely informing manner and in a 
fascinating style. The power of the group spirit 
expressed in the orderly and systematic activity of ap- 
parently unimportant individuals to accomplish 
really great tasks has never been more graphically 
described. 

Woodrow Wilson's "History of the American 
People" is a masterly presentation of the manner in 
which ideas dominating the action of many separate 
groups of colonists have finally been blended into a 
national spirit which, in its group-cementing char- 
acter, makes the American nation what it is to-day. 
(Harper & Bros., New York, 5 vols., 1911.) 

For keeping you alive to the necessity of individual 
action if you are to dominate your group, for de- 
veloping individuality which will cooperate with 
others and be benefited by association with them 
for making it possible for you to share the benefits 
of cooperation, I recommend the essays of Ralph 
Waldo Emerson. He is the fountainhead of "ginger 
talks" and optimism, of plans for meeting conditions 
as they are and making the best of them. 



CHAPTER VI 

WHAT THE MANUFACTURER OWES THE CONSUMER 

THERE are consumers who are not producers, 
but every producer is a consumer. We can- 
not escape being consumers. We must accept 
the benefits which the industry of men has provided 
for us. 

The reader of any newspaper is a typical consumer. 

A copy of a newspaper is waste paper as soon as it 

Every One Is nas fulfilled its mission of telling the con- 

a Con- sumer the many things he wants to know. 

sumer and ~ ° 

Should Be To be sure, the penny paid for the paper 
ro ucer on wee k j a y S an( j 5 cents on Sundays, 

plus the time devoted to reading its interesting pages, 
could be saved — if we believed in that kind of 
economy. If we were to apply literally the theories 
of many political economists we would not be justi- 
fied in reading a newspaper for the pleasure of know- 
ing about what is going on in the world; they claim 
that it is wasteful to read except for the attainment 
of some definite, useful purpose. 

The newspaper is a perfect illustration of the 
modern idea of justifiable commerce. It deals in 
satisfactions. The fulfilment of a desire which can 

51 



52 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

be gratified without harm to its possessor or to his 
neighbor is the basis of a commercial activity in 
which any man may honorably engage. 

A few moments' consideration of the desires 
gratified each morning by the newspaper, demon- 
strates how complex, intricate, and varying 

ful ^News- are ^ e wants °f human beings. To make 

paper Pub- his newspaper a success the publisher has 

Exemplary to be constantly cognizant of all the forces 

Manufac- w ] 1 i c } 1 stimulate desire, change beliefs and 

turer m . 7 . 

customs and increase or diminish the pur- 
chasing power of the consuming unit. He must 
accurately appraise conditions and conform to ten- 
dencies. Yet, if he fails to accept the responsibility 
of taking the initiative and assuming an authoritative 
stand wherever the consumer will profit by it, he 
will not be faithful to his own best interests. 

Primarily the publisher is a manufacturer. Also, 
he is a middleman, a salesman, and a distributor. 
His raw materials are paper, ink, and labor. His 
finished product is the issue of the paper, many times 
duplicated, which he produces every day. His mis- 
sion as a publisher is not fulfilled until he has put a 
AC j copy of his paper into the hands of every 

Plan of man and woman who would appreciate it. 

TO anT° n ^ e nas t° see ^ nat the mail trains are 
Distribution frjjy utilized and he must conform to the 

Essential .. ; . . __. 

limitations governing them. His carriers 
have to be organized and disciplined and their work 
must be supervised, just as is that of an army corps. 



WHAT MANUFACTURER OWES CONSUMER 53 

Newsstands at the big hotels and depots and many 
minor but absolutely necessary outlets for his product 
must be reckoned with and adequately and persist- 
ently followed, in order to complete the task which 
he has undertaken. 

If your newsdealer sells out his stock so that you 
cannot have your paper when you ask for it, the 
publisher wants to know it. If the carrier sub- 
stitutes another paper, you do the publisher a favor 
by telling him about it, so that he can investigate. 
He does not personally deliver the paper to its 
readers, but not in the least particular does he avoid 
personal responsibility for knowing that all the 
organized channels of distribution are open and 
working smoothly, so that you get your paper when, 
where, and how you want it. 

Not until the consumer has bought, paid for, and 

used merchandise and is ready to buy again or to 

What the recommend it to a friend has the manu- 

rvTT ^ acturer completed his work. He must 

aMerchan- realize that no matter what price he gets 

dicing Factor ftt his factory) the consumer must pay the 

cost of distribution. If, by reason of ignorance or 
indifference, the manufacturer fails to see to it that 
his products are distributed to the consumer in 
the best manner which can be devised his business 
will be taken away from him by a more efficient 
competitor. It is not necessary for the manufac- 
turer to distribute his merchandise to the consumer 
in order to fulfil this responsibility, but it is his 



54 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

imperative duty to know how his products reach 
the consumer and to know what the consumer thinks 
of them, both before and after he has used them. 

Modern merchandising recognizes that what the 
consumer thinks of a product is the most important 
factor in determining its value and the only basis 
on which a business which depends upon repeated 
sales to the same people can be built. Modern 
merchandising avoids the extremes of making goods 
(1) according to the manufacturer's notion as to 
how they ought to be made, and (2) of attempt- 
ing to follow too closely the public's whims and 
fancies. 

Organized salesmanship, which is modern adver- 
tising, has proved that consumer groups can be 
organized and kept in a constantly favor- 

C OTl£tL7Yl6V 

Groups able mental attitude toward merchandise 
Organized wn ^ cn * s identified by a trademark. One 
of the popular fallacies is that the essence 
of a trademark is an arbitrary symbol or a clever 
name, or a catchy slogan. It is not. A trademark 
is an anchor for creative sales work. Its value 
is as great as its ability to remind the consumer of 
all the favorable things he has read, heard, and ex- 
perienced in connection with it. 

The commercial value of a trademark increases 
with each individual addition to the group of people 
who believe that this mark of identification will be 
affixed only to articles which possess certain de- 
sirable qualities. Its value is also enhanced in direct 



WHAT MANUFACTURER OWES CONSUMER 55 

proportion to the intensity of the confidence of its 

consuming group. 

The manufacturer's responsibility for knowing 

what people think about what he makes and for 
inspiring and controlling a favorable men- 

Manufac- tal attitude in any who may have been 
Cannot ^different includes a recognition of the 
Escape consumer's prejudices. What he might 

Merchan- p n . p 

didng sa y successfully to one person or group of 

Re ^ lsl ' persons might be just the wrong thing to 

say to another group. 

Let us assume that a razor made so well that it 

could not be improved upon were offered for sale 

in Germany. We are assuming not that 

Superiority ^ possesses the same merit as competitive 

of no Value articles but that it is superior. Superior- 

to Either . . . _^ . * 

Manufac- ity is not enough. Doubt is a human 
CmisZmlr characteristic. Superiority is always ques- 
tioned. People capable of appreciating it 
must be informed about it. In Germany the indorse- 
ment of the Kaiser would be the strongest, most 
far-reaching and convincing manner in which the 
superlative quality of the razor could be expressed 
to the consumer. We could not choose a worse 
appeal in offering this same razor to the prospective 
purchaser in England or France, although the men 
of both these countries would surely want to know 
about and would gladly pay for a superior razor. 
The story of the razor's merit would have to be 
presented in one way in England and in another 



56 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

way in France if we wished to merchandise it ef- 
fectively. 

Since there is so great variation in occupation, 
earning power, climate, and taste, how is the manu- 
facturer to know (1) what the consumer can be per- 
suaded to desire, and (2) what the portion of the con- 
suming public which he would be able to supply 
ought to be told about what he makes? 

Modern merchandising answers this question. 
The same broad conception of service which has 
made of the bookkeeper an accountant who by an 
analysis and charting of the past activities and 
results of a business can forecast its future has 
developed the merchandising audit. 

Any producer can have his marketing possibilities 
appraised and charted. He can have a written 

A Mer- TeC0I & made of what has been accomplished 

chandising by the creative sales ability of his own 

Should Be organization and by his competitors. He 

Made by can know* what consumers think of his 

Every 

Manufac- and of his competitors' goods, and to what 
extent it would be possible to increase 
consumption in his line. It is possible to survey 
and appraise market conditions and, by getting the 
unbiased opinion of a sufficient number of con- 
sumers, wholesalers, and retailers, to know the condi- 
tion of the market as a whole. 

A plan for gathering and charting this information 
must be carefully worked out in advance. The 
data must be gathered by trained investigators 



WHAT MANUFACTUREROWES CONSUMER 57 

who seek not information which will confirm pre- 
conceived opinions, but the truth exactly as it is. 
The determination of such a merchandising 
Tmst audit is as safe a guide for the manu- 
P Work°to al fecturer as is a compass to the mariner or 
Untrained the actuarial table to the insurance com- 

Men 

panies. 

The manufacturer owes it to the consumer to 
make and distribute his product according to meth- 
ods which insure the consumer the greatest pos- 
sible satisfaction. The man who does not accept 
and fulfil this responsibility has committed com- 
mercial suicide . He is leaving an opening for some one 
who will rise to the occasion. 

Two sharp distinctions must be made when we at- 
tempt to decide whether or not an article may be 

How to P r °fitably advertised. Because purchased 

Decide in large quantities and then manufactured 
or Not 6 an 0- e -» s0 changed in form that the identity 

Article anc j knowledge of the source of supply of 

Profitably the component parts is lost) , raw materials 

ertlse cannot be advertised as profitably, at a 

large outlay, as can articles of small retail value 

sold in packages and capable of being used by almost 

every family. 

Raw materials are usually bought by experts who 
have explored the market carefully. All that adver- 
tising can do here is to teach how the goods can be 
utilized to the profit of the purchaser, thereby in- 
creasing the demand; or, by constantly demon- 



58 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

strating the superior quality of the merchandise, 
either get a preference, at the same price, over com- 
peting goods, or a slight increase in profit. In selling 
such goods, the names of all possible customers are 
known, and the personality of competent salesmen is 
usually sufficient to thoroughly merchandize the wares 
they sell. 

There are salesmen, however, and people who are 
called salesmen. The man who directs a large busi- 
ness in accordance with certain definite principles 
should see to it that his customers get the benefit of 
them. Some form of regular communication is 
recommended, in the form of printed matter, between 
the moving spirit of an organization and the cus- 
tomer. The salesman should close sales; the mission- 
ary work usually can be done best with printers' ink. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER VI 

"Practical Publicity," 1906 (the Matthews-North- 
rup Works, Buffalo), by Truman A. DeWeese, 
is a "work for the advertiser, and is intended to be 
helpful to every man who has anything to sell and 
who is ambitious to enlarge the market for his prod- 
uct," to put it in the author's own words. The book 
is adequate and unusually readable. 

"The New Business," by Harry Tipper, treats 
the business of advertising both historically and 
practically from the standpoint of an engineer who 
has been signally successful as an advertising man- 
ager. It is published at $2 by Doubleday, Page & 



WHAT MANUFACTURER OWES CONSUMER 59 

Co. for the Associated Advertising Clubs of the 
World. 



[Note — One of my friends was kind enough to 
say that Professor Cherington's book covering 
advertising from the standpoint of the trained ob- 
server, Mr. Tipper's taking it up in an analytical 
manner characteristic of the scientifically trained 
engineer, and this book of mine expressing the views 
of the man whose whole training has been in the 
practical work of every-day advertising procedure, 
gave the student the three different viewpoints that 
would give him the largest grasp of the subject 
with the minimum of time on his own part. — J. L. M.] 



CHAPTER VII 

WHAT THE CONSUMER OWES THE MANUFACTURER 

NOWADAYS everybody believes in cooper- 
ation and realizes how manifold are its bene- 
fits. Cooperation takes place within a 
group of persons who are like-minded in some 
particular; their like-mindedness makes them a group. 
Every group has a leader. 

Each one of us is a member of many groups. 
Membership should be voluntary. It usually 
is. We are often not aware that we are entering, 
are dominated by the aim of, or are leaving a 
group. 

Chicago's State street department stores are 
what they are to-day because behind each one stands 
a group of people who prefer its merchan- 
cfa&Zp diss and service to any other. The in- 
Creates dividuals who make up the group of a 
tains Every Chicago department store live in and out- 
B Bl 9 side of Chicago. They are scattered over 
a wide territory. But they are held to- 
gether by that which they have in common — a pref- 
erence for the manner and materials with which 
their wants are satisfied at this particular store. 



WHAT CONSUMER OWES MANUFACTURER 61 

Cooperation in groups is of great advantage to 
each of us. Because the cost of production and dis- 
tribution is shared by all the members of the group, 
the cost to the individual becomes so small that he 
can have many comforts which he would otherwise 
have to do without. Twenty-hour trains between 
Chicago and New York are the last word in luxurious 
travel. By cooperating with his fellow- travelers in 
bearing the expense of the trip, each passenger 
procures for himself the maximum of comfort and 
luxury. No individual, no group as small as Chi- 
cago's 100 richest men, could afford to buy such service 
as the readers of a big metropolitan newspaper, at an 
expense of only one cent, enjoy daily at their break- 
fast table. By means of expert correspondents and 
the cable, the telephone and the telegraph lines, 
the newspapers gather news of the important 
activities of the whole world each day. 
Newspaper Competent men present this information 
Has In- m attractive, easily understood form. 
Purchasing The vast expense of all this work is ab- 

fhTpenny sor ^ eo ^ m ^ ne cost °f producing the news- 
paper. 
No one of these expense items could be eliminated 
if only one copy were printed. The fact that many 
thousands of people cooperate in buying this service, 
plus the fact that advertisers materially lower the 
publisher's cost of production gives to a single penny 
a purchasing power which would have been consid- 
ered incredible a hundred years ago. 



62 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Our positive needs are few. We might feed, 
clothe, and shelter ourselves with what we could buy 

Modern w ^h only a small portion of our present 
Merchan- living expense. Modern merchandising 

Reduced has not increased the cost of needs; it has 

Prices re d uce ol it, measured in terms of our earn- 
ing power. But it has multiplied our wants and has 
made us think that many of them are needs. 

If we were to grant that we should not have wants, 
that none of us is entitled to the satisfaction of any- 
thing but actual needs, we should have to call ad- 
vertising a tax. Because it does increase the number 
of our wants. It increases our capacity to enjoy 
these wants. It increases our power to understand 
and comprehend the pleasure of the good things of life. 

Present-day merchandising methods are based 
upon the belief that we accomplish more by acting 
aggressively, and that we get more by acting re- 
ceptively, by acting through group consciousness. 
By "group consciousness" I mean that something 
inherent in each of us which makes us want to 
associate with our f ellowmen, which makes us like to 
be with people who think and act as we think and act. 

The manufacturer who reduces his price to meet 
competition is not furthering the best interests of 

When a the consumer. The manufacturer who 

Iwer' seeks to enlarge his business by an appeal 
Gains By ^ Q |-j ie group consciousness of the con- 

Eeducing i 5 

Prices sumer deserves the consumer s coopera- 
tion. He is using the method which gives most to 



WHAT CONSUMER OWES MANUFACTURER 63 

the consumer. Before he fixes his price such a man 
has had his field thoroughly and comprehensively 
analyzed, so that his plan of production and dis- 
tribution can be worked out in the light of know- 
ledge of actual conditions. Then he names a 
price which insures complete service to the con- 
sumer. 

If such a manufacturer reduces his price because 

competition forces him to do so, the consumer must 

get depreciated quality. If he reduces 

sumeT ms P r i ce m order to bring his product 
Should Not within the buying power of a larger con- 

Sureof suming group and thus increases his vol- 

R pricM ume, he makes possible internal econ- 
omies which confer upon the consumer 
greater benefit than he can obtain in any other 
way. 

The consumer ought to give preference to the 
manufacturer who seeks the largest possible market. 
Such a man is committed to the policy of per- 
petuating his business prestige in the market by 
giving better service than his competitors can 
give. 

The consumer should remember that when stand- 
ard articles are offered at less than their regular 
price a carefully developed merchandising plan is 
being interfered with. It's a doubtful economy to 
spend 10 cents for car fare and two hours' time in 
getting for 15 cents at a downtown store an article 
which can be bought at the corner grocery or drug 



64 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

store for 25 cents. When these price cuts are made 
the merchant is obliged to offset his loss by selling 
other merchandise at a price which more than makes 
up the difference. 

The merchandise on which the dealer elects to make 

up does not usually bear the name of a manufacturer, 

and seldom possesses the qualities which 

ShmMAy- ins pi re an d retain confidence and yield 

predate satisfaction. The consumer should not 
Advertiser hesitate in choosing between an advertised 
Educator anc * an unadvertised article of equal price 
and apparently equal merit. 

Advertising has developed our producing and 
distributing machinery. It has given us, in our spare 
time, education and information, the value of which 
cannot be estimated. The merchandiser who ad- 
vertises is doing business on the soundest and most 
scientific basis. The consumer who cooperates 
with him is throwing the weight of his or her influ- 
ence where it will count for most for the common 
good. 

I am not saying that all advertisers deserve prefer- 
ence and the cooperation of consumers. Much ad- 
vertising is still unscientifically done. Some of it 
is a positive waste and harm. But the latter bears 
the earmarks of inefficiency and is usually short-lived. 
The best publications are excluding the unworthy 
advertiser. The federal trade commission is recog- 
nizing that dishonest advertising is an economic 
waste. 



WHAT CONSUMER OWES MANUFACTURER 65 

The fact that advertising is made use of by the 
unscrupulous is an added reason why the consumer 
Advertisers snou ^ give his or her hearty cooperation 

Usually to the advertiser who has established his 

integrity beyond question. To doubt all 

advertisers because there have been and are imposters 

would be as foolish as to refuse to accept a $10 bill 

because people do occasionally get a counterfeit. 

Sometimes a local dealer recommends to the con- 
sumer an unknown competitor of a well-known, 
nationally advertised article which she has been 
using and which has won her confidence. The dealer 
can have only one motive in pushing an unknown 
against a known article — he thinks he will make 
more money by doing so. In this assumption he is 
often mistaken. 

Students of business agree that a rapid turnover 

with a small margin makes more money for the 

dealer than large profits and slower sales. 

advertised Well-advertised goods of recognized merit 

ilmdiy move rapidly. The best dealers know it 
the Most and concentrate on them. Thereby sav- 
ing in rent and clerk hire, and by having 
their merchandise move rapidly. 

The manufacturer who puts his name on his 
product must have sl greater sense of responsibility 
for them than does the man who does not identify 
his wares. Every phase of this responsibility de- 
velops increased value and service to the con- 
sumer. 



66 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

There are merchants who assume many of the 

functions of the manufacturer, by having goods 

The produced according to their specifications 

Merchants and then backing them with their own 

Usurp the name. But most dealers buy from com- 

Manufac- me rcial men or jobbers who are not famil- 

turer 8 

Functions iar with the conditions under which the 
re ew merchandise was produced. 
It is decidedly to the consumer's advantage to 
favor, and to back his preference by buying, only 
goods merchandised by a method which places 
responsibility for every factor of production and 
distribution exactly where it belongs. 



CHAPTER Vin 

THE TOOLS OF ADVERTISING 

MANY books have been written about the tech- 
nique of advertising as a trade,. They deal 
with type faces, sticks, and rules, plumbago, 
and electric baths, copper and zinc plates, acid 
baths, matrices, ink-rollers, and presses, paste-pots 
and scissors, paint cans and brushes, wires and 
batteries; for these are the tools of the typesetter, 
the electrotyper, the artist, the engraver, the stereo- 
typer, the pressman, the writer and editor, the sign 
painter, the billposter, and the electric-sign man. 
But I shall not attempt to explain those trades, 
either technically or mechanically. A man who 
would master any one of them should study all the 
literature available on the subject and serve a rea- 
sonable period of apprenticeship. 

As an advertiser, an advertising manager, an ad- 
vertising solicitor, or as a writer of advertising copy, 
he will do better to cooperate with men who specialize 
in the various phases of advertising, instead of at- 
tempting to oversee the details of work which must 
be well done from a technical standpoint, if he is to 
get the best results. 

67 



68 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

A few thoughts are pertinent here, however, which 
cannot be too frequently emphasized. 

Illustrations are always desirable if they tell the 

story in less space than words could do it, for they 

Successful nave a wider range of appeal and do not 

iUustra- nee j j- b e translated from one language 

tions Must ■ ■ o o 

Tell the into another. 

Les°s ry spac'e To give a commercial artist free rein in 

Than Words the matter of illustration is a mistake. He 

should be used primarily as an artisan, to put into 

concrete form the ideas which the advertiser wishes 

Ideas That to project into the consciousness of the 

ihe^uin S rou P- There are very few artists whose 

Group Must knowledge of the habits of buying groups 

Given to * * s sucn tnat they can really contribute any- 

the Artist thing to the idea which is to go into the 

advertisement. Not many of them are good judges 

of relative commercial values. 

Where arbitrary spaces are to be filled with com- 
binations of illustration and text matter, it is quite 
Mechanical essential that just the right proportion, 
Limitations an( j no mG re, be allotted to the drawing. 
Never Be Fortunately for the advertising man (who 
Overlooked j s not an ar tist), commercial artists can 
be referred, for master work of this kind, to many of 
the splendid frescoes of Raphael and Michael Angelo, 
who filled in arbitrary spaces as if they had been 
specially made for the pictures they placed therein. 
A commercial artist who can get around and over 
the obstacles which rise on every hand in reaching 



THE TOOLS OF ADVERTISING 69 

the group is a rare one indeed and well worth the 
almost fabulous sums which he can command for 
his services. 

Words, at best, are but symbols of ideas. Their 
value depends entirely upon the stage of develop- 
ment of the group spirit. Unless a large 
Words 9 to group had been taught that an arbitrary 
C rVf ey assemblage of certain letters of the alphabet 
transmits from one mind to another the 
idea which has previously been associated with this 
word, communication through the printed page 
would be impossible. For a foundation, then, we 
must have the group spirit. And the idea associated 
with any certain word must, as far as is possible, be 
kept the same. 

In advertising in the United States, it is always 
best to use Anglo-Saxon words, because more people 
Keep the un derstand them than those which are of 
Words Latin, Greek, or other derivation. Writers 
of effective advertising copy never cultivate 
what is called "style." They use words only to 
transmit an idea effectively, without diverting atten- 
tion from the message itself. That is why pretty 
pictures and high-flown phrases often defeat the 

purposes of the advertiser. 

Successful Type, while wholly mechanical, permits 

Use of f great variety of effects if skillfully 

handled. Many advertising men make 

accurate layouts specifying the sizes and faces of 

type they wish used. This can be done quite easily 



70 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

by remembering that all type is now made accord- 
ing to the point system, i. e., seventy-two points to 
an inch. Twelve-point type is exactly one-sixth of 
an inch in depth. Most newspaper columns are 
two and one-sixth inches wide. 

In making layouts for advertising, the best plan 

is to indicate roughly all words and phrases which 

are to be displayed prominently, leaving to 

Master the good judgment of a thoroughly skillful 
C WorkOut anc * experienced superintendent of the 
Details of typesetting room the selection of the best 
compositor for the particular work in 
hand. It is manifestly wiser for the man who can- 
not get such cooperation to make an accurate lay- 
out. This is merely a matter of careful measure- 
ment and correct arithmetic. 

It is possible for a man versed in the legibility 
of type faces to reset an advertisement which has 

« .,,. a crowded and confused look (and is there- 

Building i i • \ - 

anAdver- tore repellent rather than attractive) m 
Ukemdto ^om. 10 to 25 per cent, less space, and still 
BuMing a have the advertisement appear larger than 
before. The architect who builds an apart- 
ment on a twenty-foot city lot, when compared with 
the old-time carpenter-contractor who "saved you 
money by drawing the plans himself," is an illustra- 
tion of my point. When advertising space costs as 
much as $112 an inch, the economy of employing the 
most skillful manipulator of type faces is at once 
apparent. 



THE TOOLS OF ADVERTISING 71 

Type faces stand very little wear. It is practicable 

to print direct from them only on small press runs. 

How Type None of the larger daily newspapers print 

/« Used direct from type. Their big perfecting 

in Print- . , . n <» 

ingaNews- presses require continuous rolls oi paper 
Paper an( j cylindrical printing plates, which are 
made as follows: type set up the size of the page 
is locked in a form; alternate sheets of tissue and 
blotting paper, with paste between each, are spread 
over it; and it is subjected to pressure at great 
heat. This dries the paper impression, which is 
called a matrix. The matrix is put in the bottom of a 
semicircular mold, and type metal is poured over it. 
In a few seconds the metal hardens, is taken out 
of the mold, and clamped on the cylinders of the 
printing presses, which turn out papers at the rate 
of 20,000 or more per hour per press. The heat nec- 
essary to make a matrix injures the type by ex- 
panding it. So those who advertise in a large way 
in many publications and want the best effects insist 
on having electrotypes. 

The printing of books, magazines, and catalogues 

is quite different. Flat-bed presses are used. 

Usually the whole type page is electro- 

How Type at , , . , 

Is Used in typed. lo make an electrotype, a wax 
Printing a or \ e8L( [ i m p ress i on i s taken of the page, 

which may contain both type and illus- 
tration. This impression is dusted with plumbago, 
and put in a bath. An electric battery deposits a 
thin sheet of copper on the face of it. A good 



72 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

electrotype requires a bath of from four to six hours. 
This copper shell is backed up with stereotyping 
metal and a printing plate made of it. A poor 
electrotype generally has too thin a shell, which will 
not stand a long run, and is easily damaged. 

Drawings are changed into printing plates either 
by the zinc etching or the half-tone process. Wood 
The engravings are practically obsolete. Half- 
Making of tones and zinc etchings can be electrotyped, 
but with half-tones it is often better to use 
the original plate and duplicates of the same. An 
electrotype of a zinc etching will generally stand up 
better under a long press run than an original zinc. 
An electrotype can be re-electrotyped indefinitely, 
but each reproduction sacrifices something in print- 
ing quality. Men who are familiar with this fact 
can easily pick out a cheap electrotype or a repro- 
duction from an electrotype. It shows up in the 
finished result, and is one of those savings which 
should not be countenanced. 

Nothing will demonstrate to the average adver- 
tiser the fact that the best engraving and plate 
making house is none too good for his pur- 
Engravings pose, and that no money is saved by getting 
ilconom cnea P work so well as a trip through a well 
conducted shop, where he can see for 
himself how many processes there are where the 
least lack of knowledge, or of attention, would affect 
the finished result. 

Printing plates and types are used in advertising 



THE TOOLS OF ADVERTISING 73 

in two ways: (1) in space in newspapers, magazines, 
or class publications, such as trade, agricultural, 
and technical papers, street-car cards, and posters, 
and (2) in specially printed matter, such as circulars, 
booklets, catalogues, and follow-up material. 

The blank space upon which printing is done may 

well be called one of the tools of trade. In con- 

, sidering how to get the best results, one 

Making the , , . - ■ 

Most of must remember tne size ot the space avail- 
Ad Svacl n9 a ^ e > ^ e q uant y °f paper, and the general 
appearance of the advertisements which 
will compete with it for attention, so that distinc- 
tion may be secured either by emphasis or con- 
trast. 

Space buying should be delegated to a man who 
has had years of experience in that work. You can 

Space be sure, when a publisher's rate-card shows 

Buying a complicated list of discounts, that there 

a Job , \ . ' 

for a is a minimum rate, and always a way by 
Long which the trained buyer, who knows how 
Experience to present his proposition, can get an ap- 
proximation of it. 

In buying space, plates, art work, or printing, three 
things should be considered: (1) the cost of raw 
materials which will produce the right quality; (2) 
cost of supervision required to get the best results 
with the materials and the machinery used; and 
(3) the cost of expert help, getting the benefit of the 
experience of men who have made a life study of 
that particular kind of work. Their cooperation 



74 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

is valuable and is not always included in the service 
offered you by the lowest bidder. 

A printer who will cooperate with you in a sym- 
pathetic and intelligent way, understanding the 

How to P ur P ose °f your printed matter, will save 
Get Good you many times the differences between 
mg his higher price and that of the cheap 
printer who seeks your patronage through competi- 
tive bids. If you will frankly state to a competent 
and trustworthy printer the outside figure you can 
spend for a specific piece of printed matter, he can 
save you money in many ways. 

For example, presses and paper of certain sizes 
work best together. The big item in printing is 
the press work and paper. With rapidly moving 
presses, unless the distribution of the ink and the 
handling of wet sheets, after they are printed, 
is carefully [watched, the result will be unsatisfac- 
tory. 

Sometimes a catalogue just exceeds the postage 

limit and has to have an extra stamp on it. A 

printer who is accustomed to working with 

Before the advertiser would have foreseen this, 
Y inOrllr- an< ^ wou ^ first have made a dummy, on 
ing Printed specially selected paper, so that the full 
amount which Uncle Sam will carry for 
a specified sum would go into the book itself. The 
few cents needed for a better quality of paper, which 
weighs less, would mean a large saving. 

If a postage expert should make a careful analysis 



THE TOOLS OF ADVERTISING 75 

of the amount of money spent for postage during 

the year by some of the large and some of the small 

-» commercial houses, no doubt millions of 

Postage- dollars' worth of waste would be discovered. 

Sa peJt a The postage expert is an unheard-of factor 

Coming m business as yet, but the future holds out 

splendid prospects for such a profession. 
Much might be said about various qualities of 
paper stock and printing inks, and about the rules for 
Paper contrasting and combining colors. Whole 
S pHnting D0 °ks deal comprehensively with these sub- 
Ms jects. Trade papers are continually publish- 
ing elaborate treatises on paper stock andcolorprinting. 
Just in this wealth of information and argument 
lies a danger for the advertiser. He may be led off 
into the by-paths of advertising procedure, into 
investigations and discussions which may be pleasur- 
able and interesting, but which have little to do with 
effective merchandising and distribution. 

The general rule for the use of words applies also to 

paper stock and colors: the consumer's attention 

must be gained, but without his being so 

Payer fully taken up with the manner of expres- 

Stock and s [ on that the advertiser's story is minimized 

Inks by . . . . 

This Test or lost. This is the danger m using strik- 
Em^hasiL * n £ e ^ ec ^ s - There is fierce competition 
Itself for the advertiser's money, and in making 
Story any decision he should keep this test upper- 
most: Is this the tool which will most 
adequately interpret my thought? 



76 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Brains and common sense in seeking the reason for 
Greatest the rule instead of following the letter of 
.$ j! a . the law, might be listed as tools of ad= 

Advertising , m ° 

Tools Are vertismg. They are as essential to sat- 

Common isfactory advertising service as they are 

Sense to any other kind of service — no more and 
no less. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER VIII 

The newest and most effective tools of advertising 
are graphically and intelligently described in the 
printing-trade papers: The American Printer (New 
York), The Printing Art (Cambridge, Mass.), and 
the Inland Printer (Chicago). 

"Making Type Work," published by the Century 
Co., (1916) is the title of a most interesting book by 
Benjamin Sherbow. Every advertising man needs it. 

Theodore Low De Vinne has published two books, 
"Plain Printing Types," 1900, and "Correct Com- 
position," 1901 (The Century Company, New York), 
which should be in every advertising library. 

A particularly delightful and inspiring book is 
"Printing in Relation to Graphic Art," 1903 (The 
Imperial Press, Cleveland), by George French. 

Many books concerning the various technical 
phrases of plate-making and printing are advertised 
in the trade papers. 

Frank Alvah Parsons' "Principles of Advertising 
Arrangement," 1912 (the Advertising Men's League 
of New York City), contains valuable information 



THE TOOLS OF ADVERTISING 77 

for those interested in the different phases of adver- 
tising display. The book is a series of ten lectures 
which treat in a technical manner the most important 
factors to be considered in building a successful 
advertisement. Two chapters devoted to "The Use 
and Abuse of Decoration and Ornament" are par- 
ticularly worth while. 

Harry M. Basford has written a valuable book, 
"How to Estimate on Printing," 1913 (Oswald 
Publishing Company, New York). Good printers, 
like good lawyers and good doctors, are willing to 
tell their customers all they want to know. The 
reader will have more respect for good printers and 
the work they do after he has finished Mr. Basford's 
book. 

The "Graphic Arts and Grafts Year Book" 
(Graphic Arts Press, Hamilton, Ohio) contains the 
latest examples of color and process printing of all 
kinds on every variety of paper stock. Invaluable to 
printers. 



CHAPTER IX 

ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 

THE group spirit creates the advertising me- 
dium. To think alike, people must contin- 
ually receive through the same channel new 
impressions of ideas which in themselves may be 
old or new. Leaders of groups persistently reiterate 
and confidently affirm. They find that all the ways 
and means of accepted advertising procedure con- 
stitute the best method of "selling" their ideas to 
their respective groups. 

Some mediums have greater prestige than others. 
By "prestige," I mean that standing which an or- 
ganization or a man must have whose 
Ch °tke n9 sta t emen ts are accepted with little or no 
Medium question. 

° Prestige Suppose that you are on the mailing fist 
of a bond house, and are also a regular 
reader of a daily newspaper, a subscriber to a monthly 
magazine, and an illustrated weekly of national cir- 
culation, a daily patron of the street cars and an 
unintentional though by no means uninfluenced 
observer of painted bulletins. 

Suppose that the bond house sends you a circular, 

78 



ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 79 

and that precisely the offer it makes you appears in 
your newspaper, your magazine, your illustrated 

A Case weekly, in street cars, and on bulletin 

in Pmnt b oar d s . Which will make the greatest 
impression? 

If your purchases from the bond house have been 
profitable, the chances are its circular would have 
the most prestige. Had you been indifferently 
served, or had you later found out, or thought 
you had found out, that some other house would 
have given you the same security and a better rate 
of interest, or if you had never made an investment 
of that sort and knew nothing at all about this bond 
house, save through the circular, it would be the 
least effective of the mediums reaching you. 

But if you were in position to make an investment 
when you get the circular, but had never heard of 
the bond house, it is certain that the advertisement 
in your favorite magazine or in your daily paper 
would have given to the circular a prestige and in- 
fluence which it could not possibly have had without 
this additional support. 

Prestige, therefore, is either the cumulative result 
of the best type of advertising, or it is a reinforce- 

Buying naent of a previously created confidence in 

Space a medium in the minds of the individual 

Requires . _ 

, Careful members ot the group which makes the 

Analysis medium possible. 

Because of competition among men who own and 
control advertising mediums, it is wise to analvze 



80 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

and weigh carefully before buying space. Many 
delicate factors have to be considered in determining 
which is the best medium, or the best selection from 
a number of mediums for your particular business. 

The keen observer will also discover a disparity 

between the intrinsic value of mediums and the 

The aggressiveness and convincing power of 

Intrinsic the personal salesmanship which represents 

Mediums them. For many years newspaper pub- 

and Ushers throughout the United States sold 

Aggressive , . . .. . 

Salesman- advertising space to patent-medicme houses 
for less than cost. They thought that to 
get money for space they had to fill anyhow, was like 
finding it. Skillful salesmen placed these remedies 
in drug stores and then made space contracts for 
from one to three years with publishers. Increased 
enlightenment on the part of the publisher has just 
about put an end to this kind of business. 

Many of the best and strongest mediums are rep- 
resented by salesmen of the true service type — men 
who will not sell the advertiser space unless 
theRevre- they are sure that the nature of his business 
sentative of an d his plans f or " cashing in " on his adver- 
Is an tising expenditure will be acceptable to the 
factor 1 rea ders of the medium for your particular 
business. 
In contrast to this position we have that of a 
number of splendid advertising mediums which 
are undersold. The publishers take the ground 
that it is undignified to send out men to persuade the 



ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 81 

advertiser to use their columns. With still other 
mediums the personal salesmanship of the adver- 
tising representative is the most interesting, aggres- 
sive, and valuable service which the advertiser buys. 

The first thing an advertiser has to do is to ^x 
clearly in his mind the characteristics of the partic- 
ular group to which his story will most 
One Large logically appeal. In some cases this group 
™ s up may be numerically smaller than that 

S s Ve cdl reacne d by the advertising medium. Then 

Groups it is wise for him to consider whether he 
will concentrate on one medium that has 
prestige, even though he cannot expect his buying 
group to consist of more than a small portion of that 
which creates the medium, or if he shall use several 
units reaching groups smaller than that which he is 
creating for himself. 

This is the problem which retail stores in big cities 
can never get away from. Shall the proprietor con- 
centrate his appropriation on one publication, know- 
ing that he could not possibly serve all of its readers 
if they should come to his store? Or shall he scatter 
his appropriation among several daily newspapers, 
knowing that from each he can gather a certain 
number of individuals most susceptible to his offers, 
just as with a magnet one can pick out from a 
tray of ashes and iron filings every particle of 
metal? 

If some one medium dominates the whole field, he 
must decide whether he will make his business con- 



82 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

form to the characteristics of the group which con- 
stitutes the medium, or if he will make selections 
from various groups and build up a following of his 
own. 

The problem is intensified as soon as mail-order 
advertising and national advertising are taken up. 
But I shall consider these subjects in a later chap- 
ter. 

The mediums which are recognized as worthy of 
every advertiser's consideration are listed as follows: 
Newspapers, Magazines (popular, technical, trade, 
and class), Street Cars, Posting, Painted Bulletins and 
Walls, Electric Signs, Window Displays, Store Dem- 

The onstrations, Sampling, House-to-House 
Different Canvassing, Form Letters and Mailing 

J$x €(U1117TIS 

Used in Cards or Circulars sent to lists of names, 
Advertising Nove i ties> suc h as Calendars, Blotters, 

and the like. 

What the newspaper gives us, no matter where 

it is published, is news. By "news" I mean a record 

of things that happen to people. They in- 

Advertisers terest us because we are human and they 

Newspa^i ™8 ht happen to us, too. The newspaper 

the Best i s ephemeral. Its mission is ended when it 

has been read. Its life is over when the 

next issue is on the market. It is as hard to find 

yesterday's newspaper as it is to remember who was 

the last vice-president. 

Two distinct classes of advertisers, differing radi- 
cally in character, find the newspaper their best 



ADVERTISING MEDIUMS . 83 

avenue to a market. First of these is the retail 

store. In order to pay such constant overhead 

' Th D l ex P enses as interest on capital, rent, 

Newspaper salaries, insurance, etc., it must do a busi- 

Aatrtding ness every day. The daily paper is the 

the Local ideal medium for getting the consumer 

to come to the store for a definite and 

specific purpose, a purpose which, if the truth be told, 

the advertiser has put into his or her mind. 

The other class consists of those of whose business 
timeliness is the most conspicuous feature. The 
newspaper is the best medium for satisfying 
pape^Best occasional, temporary, and emergency busi- 
Medium ne ss needs. The want columns of a metro- 
Satisfying politan newspaper show up human nature 
Im Needs U m ^ s mos ^ unsettled state with relation to 
business. It may seem paradoxical that 
the best publication for establishing a strongly en- 
trenched department store is also the most com- 
petent medium for the man out of a job and the 
employer who needs more help. In the "want ads" 
the man who has old clothes to sell can most speedily 
convert them into cash. There rooms are rented 
and roomers find new quarters. If you never have 
spent a couple of hours in reading the "Want Sec- 
tion" of a Sunday newspaper, I recommend it. You 
will get more thrills out of it and more things to 
think about, more sidelights on human nature, than 
are to be had in the same time in any other way. 
In the "want" columns and in the daily announce- 



84 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

merits of the department store the best appeal to the 
group which constitutes a newspaper must always be 
foremost — the timeliness of to-day's presentation and 
the necessity for immediate action. This is the 
general practice of the most successful advertisers. 

Men who sell advertising space in magazines of 

which fiction is the important feature will tell you 

Fiction that there is a universal demand for such 

Magazines literature; and that it is when you are 

as an " 

Advertising relaxed and reading a magazine that you 
Medium are mo5 t reac [y to receive new ideas. It 
is noteworthy, also, that a fiction magazine may be 
read at any time, now or several months from now, 
with equal pleasure. 

The advertiser whose goods can be sold all over 
the United States is urged to use national fiction 
magazines, because, having a permanent story to 
tell, he reaches the public at a time when it is most 
likely to grant him consideration. Many producers 
have built up a large business in this way. 

Some successful magazines, particularly our na- 
tional weeklies, combine the "pulling" points of mag- 
azines and newspapers, i. e., (1) their fiction 
National is of such quality as to be worth keeping 
Weeklies f or f^^e reading, and (2) timely features 
Combina- are dealt with more thoroughly than the 

Hon News- , . . 1 

paper and newspaper can treat tnem. 

Magazine Advertisers classify technical, trade, and 

Medium . pi 

class publications as magazmes, for the 
reason that the groups to which they appeal are not 



ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 85 

confined as to locality; they have subscribers in every 

part of the United States. A number of technical 

magazines are really trade directories. 

Trade, and The last issue of any one of them may 

Class Pub- justly be regarded as a complete and 

up-to-date manual of a trade which may 

cover the whole United States, with representatives 

in almost every city. The same statement might 

be made concerning class papers, although sectional 

lines are more clearly drawn in this field. 

Farm papers are usually listed as class publica- 
tions. Some of them have a national scope but deal 
with but one industry, such as horses, 
Papers, cattle, or poultry breeding. Others take 
the Trade U p j^ detail of soil, climate, and the gen- 

Pubhcation , ... J , , 

of a eral conditions 01 the principal crop 01 the 

Ofa 8 particular belts or territories they cover. 
The latter are really the trade papers of 
over six million American farmers. Each one of these 
farmers operates a farm large enough to be properly 
regarded as a business unit, a separate producing and 
merchandising establishment, as well as a consuming 
unit, connected with many different consuming groups. 

In determining the value of class publications, 

editorial prestige, the censorship of the advertis- 

ing pages, the circulation of the paper, 

Judge a its prestige and subscription price, whether 

Publication or no ^ ^ le sa, k °^ SUDSCr ipti° ns * s stimu- 
lated by offering premiums — and if so, 
what kind of premiums — all these are factors which 



86 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

the advertiser who uses their space should consider 
seriously. 

This large number of all kinds of publications 
gives the advertiser ample opportunity, and, as is al- 
ways the case where opportunity is large, the respon- 
sibility for discrimination is increased exceedingly. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER IX 

In "The Art of Newspaper Making, 5 " 1895 "(D. 
Appleton & Company, New York), Charles A. Dana, 
one of the greatest American journalists, has given us 
his ideas about writing copy for and publishing a 
paper. He gives standards for discrimination. 

"The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," 1902 
(Houghton, Mifflin & Company, New York), gives 
the reader a very good idea of the status of adver- 
tising in his time. Franklin foresaw the tremen- 
dous development of advertising mediums, and his 
pioneer work in system may well be regarded as the 
foundation of modern and scientific management. 

"Astir," by John Adams Thayer, 1913 (Small, 
Maynard & Company, Boston), is a frank revelation 
of the ways of magazine publishers, their ideals, and 
their methods. If the book contained nothing more 
than his correspondence with Mr. Frank A. Munsey, 
who gave us the low-priced fiction magazine and has 
so largely influenced the history of publishing in the 
United States during the last twenty-five years — 
it would be worth careful reading. 



CHAPTER X 

advertising mediums {Continued) 

THE standard street-car card is eleven inches 
high and twenty-one inches wide. Many 
manufacturers and retailers favor this form 
of advertising because it gives them a chance to re- 
produce their package in its original colors. 

Street-car advertising is peculiarly suitable for 
continuous advertising, because the cars run every 

street-car ^W * n ^ ie vear - They follow the arteries 
Advertising of trade. The number of cars run on any 
given line is increased just as fast as the 
number of patrons increases. More people means 
more cars, and that means more publicity for car 
cards. The longer the haul, the more time the 
traveler has for reading these cards. 

Several different cards may be run by the same 
manufacturer at the same time. Many advertisers 
The Use, use as man y as six a t once, with sixty words 
Checking on each. Some favor the poster idea 
Street-car where large type for the name or suggestive 
Advertising pj c t ures with the trademark prominent 
keep alive impressions previously made in the con- 
sumer's mind. Others rely wholly upon text to 

87 



88 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

clearly explain an article's merits and deftly arouse 
the buying impulse to action. 

The advertiser is given a list of the numbers of 
the cars in which his cards are appearing. Check- 
ers visit the barns to verify these lists. Cards are 
changed once a month, usually. 

Pasting sheets of printed paper on walls, the sides 
of barns, and on specially prepared boards is prob- 
ably the most elementary form of adver- 
runnersof a tising. Time tables tacked up in railway 

Modern stations, notices pinned or pasted up 
in post-offices, the bulletin boards on 
which most large institutions make announce- 
ments — these were the forerunners of modern bill- 
posting. 

Circus and theatrical attractions, recognizing the 

power of color with the public, and desiring to create 

an impression of bigness, kept increasing 

Evolution the size of posters. In this way the 8- 

Twenty- snee ^> the 16-sheet, and 24-sheet posters 
four Sheet of to-day came about. In an early day 
it was possible to print only one sheet, 
28 x 42 inches, at a time. It had to be sent through 
the press once for each color; so a 24-sheet poster 
meant a great deal of detail work in design, me- 
chanical execution, handling in the printing offices, 
sampling, shipping, and in finally placing it on the 
boards. 

Presses have been increased in size so that a 
much larger sheet than 28 x 42 inches can be printed 



ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 89 

at one time, but this arbitrary size (28 x 42) is the 
unit of measurement in referring to 8 sheet, 24 
sheet, and other sizes of posters. 

Posters are still lithographed one color at a time, 
which requires running the sheet through the press 
once for each color. Colored process work on 
posters is possible and it has been done, but it has not 
come into general use. A process poster seems to 
lack the color "punch" an ordinary lithographed 
one has. It suffers in comparison with others on a 
billboard on which each poster must compete with 
all others for attention. 

Billposting has been standardized in the United 

States. In about four thousand towns and cities 

there are regular plants which maintain 

Billposting i jp *p i • i • i_ • 

Service as boards of uniform height but varying in 
Standard- width to accommodate one or many posters . 

ized m . m . " r 

United Multiplying 28 inches by 4 to get the 

height of a 4-sheet poster we have 112 
inches or 9 feet 4 inches as the height of the standard 
4-8-12-16-20 and 24 sheet poster. 

Allowing for border, trim, and lap-over, the posting 
surface is about 9 feet in height, so a board must 
be at least this height to accommodate a poster. 
Billboards are as a rule 10 feet in height to permit 
blanking space above and below the posters. In large 
cities property owners get high rents for the ground 
on which the boards stand. This results in a list of 
special locations for which a higher rate is charged 
than the regular standardized price per sheet. 



90 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

A billposter agrees to furnish a list of locations on 
which posters have been placed, and to keep them in 
good condition for thirty days. The advertiser fur- 
nishes from 10 to 20 per cent, more paper than the 
actual number of locations require. Since it is nec- 
essary to renew paper every thirty days, a month has 
become the basis on which billposting is usually sold. 

Some advertisers post continuously, but change 
the showing once a month; others post alternate 
months; still others post one month in the spring 
and one in the fall. Some use posting only when 
they want to introduce a product. 

Billposting boards usually differ from bulletin 
boards only in that posters are pasted on the former 
and on the latter the advertisement is painted. 

A painted bulletin is usually twenty-five feet long 
and made of galvanized iron, and sold on a twelve 

Painted months' contract including one or two 
Bulletins r epaintings. Rents for locations average 
higher than for billboards, because the contract 
runs for a longer period. In very many cities painted 
boards or walls dominate the most populous centres. 
Advertisers who want to create an impression of 
permanence usually prefer paint to posters. 

In height some city bulletin boards are 8 feet, a 
greater number are 12 feet. By far the largest num- 
ber are 10 feet. On boards new being built, the 
present tendency is toward boards 12 feet in height. 

Buffalo is the only large city I know to build 
bulletin boards 8 feet high. 



ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 91 

This was required by municipal ordinances. The 
sign people in Buffalo have evidently been able to 
discover some way to evade this law or have it re- 
pealed, as I understand they are erecting higher 
boards in the former ^districts where all boards over 
eight feet in height were prohibited. 

The cheapest and most effective outdoor paint- 
ing is on outside store walls, if locations are 
available. Successful advertisers usually go into a 
city, buy a well-distributed wall showing, and sup- 
plement it with painted bulletin locations wherever 
walls are not to be had. Walls are painted once a 
year. The minimum price is 5 cents per square foot. 
At that rate, a 20 x 40 foot wall costs the advertiser 
$40 for a twelve months' showing, this to include the 
cost of designing and painting. 

A 10 x 25 foot painted bulletin, being a selected 
location as a rule, is considered to have the same 
p „ .. , attention value as an 800-square-foot wall. 

Bulletins and ^ 

Walls Forty cents a month per running foot, or 
5 cents per square foot per year, on a board 
eight feet high, means that a bulletin costs twelve 
times as much per square foot as a wall. But the 
250 square feet of space in a 25-foot bulletin is 
usually considered equivalent to 800 feet in a wall, if 
one takes into consideration the better location, that 
the bulletin is painted twice a year, and that its 
smoother surface makes finer pictorial work pos- 
sible. 

A 32-sheet poster, at 20 cents per sheet a month, 



92 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

costs $6,40, It is generally compared with a 
£5-foot bulletin 3 as it occupies about the same 
The Com- space and costs $10 a month, A poster 
Cost 1 If costs $6.40 per month, plus the cost of 
,tP anT" paper, which will vary from 40 cents to $1 
"Paint" each (in minimum lots of 1,000) plus the 
cost of expressage. The cost of paint and paper 
is so nearly the same, therefore, that competition 
is keen wherever they are handled by different inter- 
ests. In a number of prominent cities, notably 
Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Seattle, Portland, San 
Francisco, and Los Angeles, paint and posting 
interests are identical. The tendency of advertisers 
generally is to use paint for twelve months' showing 
and paper for all shorter periods. 

Electric signs have become an important feature 
of outdoor advertising in large cities. It is difficult 
for some people to believe that a chewing- 
E Signs S um manufacturer, for example, can afford 
to pay $18,000 a year for an electric sign 
showing the full length of Broadway from Thirty- 
third to Forty-second Street. This is less than 
$50 a day, and it may safely be said that at least 
200,000 people, each having money enough to buy 
chewing-gum, see this sign every day. 

This completes the list of mediums for which a 
national service has been organized. It is possible for 
an advertiser to get accurate information about all 
these mediums in one office, and also to contract 
therefor dependable, easily verifiable service which 



ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 93 

will be billed to him monthly, and may be paid for 
with a single check. 

There are other advertising mediums which are 
quite generally handled in the advertiser's organiza- 
tion. 

Window displays can be purchased from houses 

which make a specialty of preparing them. But 

it is always wisest for the advertiser to have 

DMaua n * s own men P ut tnem U P* ^ vast amount 
of lithographed material sent out to dealers 
is wasted. They store it, temporarily of course, 
under the counter; and very often it gets no further. 
Sometimes it is never unpacked or brought up from 
the basement. Window display costs anywhere 
from 25 cents to several dollars per window. Before 
he undertakes this form of advertising the manufac- 
turer should be very sure that he has a comprehen- 
sive workable plan which will positively put his 
material in the window. 

Food manufacturers frequently use store demon- 
strations to introduce a product. The demonstra- 
s tors should be capable saleswomen who 

Demonstm- can take enough orders and make enough 
direct sales to practically pay their way. 
Some retailers object to demonstrations, declaring 
that they divert attention from the regular stock. 
The average grocery store serves less than one hun- 
dred families. Actually, the average is only a little 
more than sixty. Unless the demonstrator does pay 
her way in sales, the publicity is very expensive. 



94 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Sampling is also favored by food manufacturers. 
A crew of men, in charge of a dependable super- 
intendent, gives samples direct to house- 

Samphng . . , jit 

wives, or hands out coupons redeemable 
at a grocery store either in full or part payment for 
a package of the goods being advertised. The manu- 
facturer allows the grocer full credit, in lieu of cash 
for goods, for all coupons redeemed before a cer- 
tain date. 
„ House-to-house canvassing is an exten- 

kouse sion of the demonstration idea. The can- 
anvassing vasser frequently makes direct sales to the 
housewife and turns them over to her grocer. Some- 
times the canvasser goes out with the grocer's order 
boy, gives a talk about the goods at each stop, and 
makes direct sales. 

Form letters, mailing cards, and folders have 
played a considerable role in advertising, and are 
Form still used by many advertisers. They are 
LftfT.** expensive when one considers the number 
Cards, of people reached, because Uncle Sam does 
Folders no ^ ma k e a discriminating rate in favor of 
printed matter of this kind, as he does for news- 
papers, magazines, and periodicals which travel as 
second-class matter. Very often advertisers go to 
a dealer, sell him a bill of goods, and get the names 
of his customers and prospectives. The manufac- 
turer believes he can demonstrate to the customer 
the merits of his goods more quickly and accurately 
than the dealer can. He also believes that the 



ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 95 

literature he sends to these customers influences and 
reinforces the dealer's attitude toward his product. 

Mailing cards are sent out in advance of salesmen 

calling on the trade. They also announce changes in 

price. A number of wholesale jobbing 

^OtheT houses get all orders from dealers through 

Printed ^he mail. Such houses get out a catalogue 

Matter ° . ° 

Used to at least once a month. Many jobbers an- 
Sahsmen ticipate the calls of their salesmen by work- 
ing the trade by mail, hoping to get a 
small initial order, or a request for a salesman to 
call. Others send out printed matter, to keep up the 
dealer's interest during the interval between the 
salesman's visits. 

The use of calendars and novelties is quite a 
different but very popular form of advertising. 
Cal , Theoretically, the value of the calendar, 
and or pocketbook, or knife, or blotter, with the 
advertiser's name on it is that because it is a 
useful article, it will keep the advertiser's name con- 
stantly before the user. The truth of the matter is that 
few men could tell you the name which is on the blotter 
which they have been using every day for a week. 

The best novelty salesmen do not use the "Keep 
your name before the public" plea, for they know 
that the advertiser can get this service else- 
Ueas Used where for much less money. The plan most 
%de°smen use( * * s to as ^ a Dan ker, for instance, how 
he would like to have fifty men who had 
never been in his bank, all of them desirable patrons, 



96 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

come in to see him and accept a favor from him, at a 
cost not to exceed twenty-five cents each. The first 
time it is presented, this proposition is very tempting. 
The salesman shows a reproduction of a beautiful 
picture, explains that he will have it made up in 
a handsome calendar, and hands the banker a copy of 
a form letter which has been successful in other places. 
It invites the recipient to stop at the bank some day, 
when he is going by, and get a calendar that has 
been set aside for him. The salesman cautions the 
banker to write the man's name on the envelope 
before he comes in, so that he will be sure to know he 
is getting something which has been especially re- 
served for him. One cannot say this is not successful 
advertising; and for certain lines of business it seems 
the cheapest and quickest approach. 

Novelty salesmen who want to build a permanent 
clientele are most concerned about how their cus- 
Add . tomers use these novelties. Suppose that, 
Value to having given a clerk a strong sales talk 
in which he emphasizes the chance to de- 
velop selling ability by making every effort to sell 
the article which the salesman has just sold the 
proprietor, the salesman hands the clerk a pencil 
and tells him to use it writing out orders. Every 
time he uses it, that pencil reminds the clerk of 
that sales talk. To merely hand out the pencil, as 
if the salesman himself considered it of but little 
value, would be sheer waste. Calendars and novel- 
ties should remind the recipient of a forceful sales 



ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 97 

talk; when they do* they have a sentimental value 
quite apart from and beyond their actual cost. 

Slides for motion-picture houses are worth while 
for local merchants who have the exclusive sale of a 

nationally advertised brand of goods for 
picture their own city or a restricted community. 

Attempts have been made to organize the 
motion-picture business, so that slides might be sold 
on a national service basis; but very little headway 
has been made. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER X 

There is plenty of literature about advertising 
mediums. Publishers and space-owners are contin- 
ually putting out books that deal with one or an- 
other phase of the subject. Much of this material 
might be classed as special pleading. Too much of it 
extols one class of mediums and condemns all others. 

Especially noteworthy is "Selling Forces," 1913, by 
the Curtis Publishing Company. It covers a broad 
field and is a comprehensive and authoritative treat- 
ise on the whole subject of advertising. 

For practical suggestions and methods, see "Poster 
Advertising," 1910, by G. H. E. Hawkins, Chicago; 
also "Newspaper Advertising," 1914, by the same 
author. 

Henry S. Bunting, editor and publisher of the 
Novelty News, has written several books on new 
and special phases of advertising. Novelty Adver- 
tising and personal appeal is covered in .his book, 



98 AD VERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

"Specialty Advertising — The New Way to Build 
Business" (second edition, 1914); premium or profit- 
sharing advertising in "The Premium System of 
Forcing Sales: Its Principles, Laws, and Uses "(1913) ; 
his latest and best book, "The Elementary Laws of 
xAdvertising and How to Use Them" (1914, the 
Novelty News Press, Chicago), being a clear definition 
of the principles and laws which underlie all success- 
ful advertising, applying equally to the use of every 
kind of media. 



CHAPTER XI 

BUILDING AND TESTING AN ADVERTISEMENT 

COPY is the term by which advertising men 
designate everything the advertiser puts into 
the space he buys. The right kind of copy 
is built rather than written or designed. 

A copy writer should have accurate, compre- 
hensive knowledge of the characteristics of the group 
What the to whom the copy is to appeal. He should 
C°py know what the wares advertised will do, 
Should and what they cannot be expected to do, 
Know - n |.j le h anc [ s f the consumer. He should 

have before him an analysis of all competitors' ad- 
vertising, so that he may not reinforce their work by 
using points which they have preempted. He should 
know what kind of salesmanship, written and per- 
sonal, is to be used in connection with the copy. He 
usually is and should be responsible for the prepara- 
tion of anticipatory and follow-up literature to be 
used in connection with advertisements. To do this 
most effectively, he must be thoroughly saturated 
and in absolute harmony with the sales policy of the 
house for which he is writing. 

A copy writer should regard himself as an inter- 

99 



100 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

preter between the man who has something to sell 

and the people who can use it. Many points which 

The Copy the manufacturer finds interesting, in pro- 

inter 67 eter Cueing ms wares > would only confuse the 

Between buyer and distract his attention. The pur- 

and Buy- chaser is primarily interested in the satis- 

ing Group f ac tion he derives from his purchase. The 

consumer's point of view differs radically from that 

of the retail clerk, or the dealer, or the salesman 

who represents the manufacturer in distributing his 

goods through the established channels of trade. 

Unless the copy writer and the commercial artist 
can almost intuitively grasp the group spirit, and 
emphasize in words and pictures those points of the 
article being advertised which will appeal 
IUustrating most strongly to the individuals which com- 
Advertise^ p OSC the group, their technical ability will 
a Strong count for very little. I am convinced that 
%eal—a~ the number of persons who can write or 
Natural illustrate copy which sells goods is com- 
paratively small. 
The successful copy writer must have a natural 
bent or gift for it, somewhat akin to the reporter's 
''nose for news." It is certain, however, that expe- 
rience and the following of generally accepted stand- 
ards will develop, intensify, and make more practical 
a natural gift for writing and illustrating copy. 

The novel and spectacular can generally be found 
within the advertiser's organization or in the wares 
produced. The copy writer who gives to the reader the 



BUILDING AND TESTING 101 

impression that he has created the novel or sensational 
features of the advertisement defeats its purpose. 

When the size of an advertisement and what is to 

be said in it have been determined, the best plan 

is for the copy writer to make a diagram, 

miriglhe enclosing the exact amount of space to be 

Advertise- use( j; then indicate that portion which will 

merit . 

be reserved for illustration; locate with 
heavy lines, or letter in, the large display words, in 
order to get the proper emphasis and balance for the 
principal points; and finally fill in the remaining 
space with text matter. 

It is a great mistake to believe that, because people 
remember very little of what they see, an advertise- 
ment should consist of very few words. We 
X 0t y remember Dickens' characters because he 
Nec Sood lv resta t e d their peculiarities again and again 
until they were unforgettable. A good 
story writer grips the reader's attention in the first 
paragraph and carries it through column after column 
of interesting matter, all the time burning into his 
consciousness the points which are to be emphasized. 
Display advertisements serve two purposes: (1) 
they impress the casual reader, and (2) they put the 
buying impulse into the mind of the possible 
ments Must customer. Both kinds must be considered 
M Cre%T d m ma ki n g a layout. An advertisement 
Desire to needs to be a good one, even if it is to have 
no more attention than that casually given 
to a poster. Small type should be saved for clinching 



102 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

the buying impulse, for if the reader takes time to 
read the small type, it means that his curiosity has 
been aroused by the display features. 

In the first edition of this book I described the ten 
tests which I originated and used for many years in 
judging copy before printing it. These ten tests 
were: (1) Is it institutional? (2) Is it natural? (3) 
Is it specific? (4) Is it timely? (5) Is it pertinent? 
(6) Is it consistent? (7) Is it persistent? (8) Is it 
authoritative? (9) Is it plausible? and (10) Is it 
sincere? 

After mature thought I have come to the conclu- 
sion that there are but five fundamental tests. 

The reader will agree with me, I am sure, that 
Consistency and Naturalness are qualities of In- 
stitutionalism, that the test of "Is It Forcible?" 
includes the questions of Persistency and Authority, 
and that an advertisement cannot be Specific with- 
out being Pertinent, and cannot be Plausible unless 
it is Timely. 

The Rye tests as they now stand are: (1) Is it in- 
stitutional? (2) Is it specific? (3) Is it forcible? 
(4) Is it plausible? (5) Is it sincere? 
Tests of These tests are not intended to guide 
an Adver- crea tive work. They should be applied 
before advertisements are given then* final 
approval. They will be of use to the copy writer, 
to the retailer who has an advertising manager, to the 
manufacturer, to the sales manager, and to the 
salesman. 



BUILDING AND TESTING 103 

(1) Is your advertisement institutional? An insti- 
tution is composed of individuals who have many 
thoughts in common. The circulation of a successful 
publication is institutional. The group which reads 
a single publication, day after day, will unconsciously 
be influenced by and then accept its institutional 
viewpoint. A well-managed business house develops 
an established order of doing things. This makes it 
institutional in character. 

The best copy reflects the institutional quality 
of the business which it is promoting, and takes 
cognizance, in its appeal, of the institutional traits 
of the readers. 

Does your advertisement appeal most strongly to 
the group spirit of the people to whom it is directed? 
To answer this question one must have complete 
data as to the tastes, incomes, ideals, purposes, and 
habits of life of the group which is to be influenced. 
It also calls for the intelligent scrutiny of the read- 
ing pages of those publications which have the larg- 
est circulation in that group. 

An advertisement should carry over to the reader 
the individuality of the advertiser. Some publicity 
fails because the writer of it is under the strain of 
being unnatural. His copy is forced, and does not 
ring true. A good advertisement is a mental photo- 
graph of the policy and principles of the advertiser, 
presented in a way that makes the reader feel that 
they safeguard his best interests. The copy writer 
must be able to interpret the advertiser's personality, 



104 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

and so to express his Ideas in print that they are 
instantly recognized as a sincere message from him. 
The copy writer is a success who can make his copy 
carry over to the reader that intangible something 
which pervades every successful commercial organiza- 
tion. 

Each advertisement must be a perfect link in the 
chain of the advertiser's selling policy. It should 
not be printed unless it will have intelligent and 
sympathetic cooperation from the advertiser's sales- 
people. Methods that bring success to one institu- 
tion are often ridiculously useless for another. To 
exploit a bank in the extravagant superlatives of a 
circus publicity man would be absurd and disas- 
trous. On the other hand, some advertisers, fearing 
to appear undignified or sensational, actually say 
nothing that is interesting in their announcements. 

(2) Is your advertisement specific f If it lacks 
individuality, an advertisement helps competitors 
as much as it does the institution w^hich is paying 
for it. To find out whether or not an advertisement 
is specific or merely generic, substitute the name of a 
competitor. If the advertisement is just as good for 
a competitor, it lacks individuality. A specific ad- 
vertisement meets conditions squarely as they are, 
not as they ought to be. It gives a definite reason 
for demanding the prospective customer's immediate 
attention, and justifies its existence from the view- 
point of the advertiser. 

It should so concentrate attention on the article 



BUILDING AND TESTING 105 

advertised that the reader will be completely ab- 
sorbed in and unconsciously obtain a clear idea of 
what the story tells for the reader's benefit, rather 
than be impressed by the manner in which it has been 
told. If the cleverness of wording, or a too challeng- 
ing illustration divert the reader's attention from the 
article itself, the advertisement is a failure. 

Many manufacturers have frankly stated that there 
was nothing in what they made that could not be 
honestly claimed by a number of their competitors. 

They believed it impossible to prepare advertise- 
ments that could be approved under the test of "Is 
it specific? " 

The clever copy writer has presented points that 
might truthfully be claimed for all manufacturers 
in such a novel, forceful, and convincing way that they 
impressed the reader as being individual to the ad- 
vertiser. 

Thus, if an article of merchandise lacks strikingly 
individual points, it is often possible for the copy 
writer to feature minor points so strongly that they 
are invested with the quality of specific distinction 
in the consumer's mind. 

Should others follow the advertiser's lead and em- 
phasize the same points, they stamp themselves as 
imitators or followers. The position of the pioneer 
is often strengthened by efforts of competitors who 
endeavor to divide honors with him. The public 
instinctively turns away from the man who claims 
the credit due another. 



106 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Most people, if asked to name the highest moun- 
tain in Colorado, would say "Pike's Peak." But the 
fact really is that there are twenty-six that are 
higher. No one could estimate how many pages 
have been written about Pike's Peak, or how many 
times its name has been mentioned in magazines, 
newspapers, or by word of mouth; but all agree that 
in that way, and that way only, has it acquired its 
distinction — a quality that is specific in the sense of 
this test — in relation to all other Colorado mountains. 

There are many articles that are really staples 
and are known only by their trade names. No one 
knows whether there are twenty-six or more equally 
good ones. The consumer's preference, which is a 
mixture of experience, familiarity and friendliness, 
is the manufacturer's biggest asset. 

(3) Is it forcible ? An advertisement must al- 
ways appeal to sentiment to be forcible. There can 
be no impulse to action unless one wants to do what 
is suggested in the advertisement. 

Reason, logic, and analysis never have and never 
will create desires. At most they merely justify 
action prompted by desire. The buying impulse 
must be aroused to action through an appeal to senti- 
ment if an advertisement fulfils its mission. 

An advertisement should be written with due re- 
gard to the viewpoint of the purchaser. "How is 
it made?" does not interest him so much as "What 
will it do for me?" It is often well to humor 
pretended motives, and subtly to suggest the real 



BUILDING AND TESTING 107 

ones. Many a piano is bought for another purpose 
than to develop the musical talent of a family. 
The purchase actually marks its social advancement 
from the bread-winning state to the possession of a 
recognized luxury. 

Suggestion, the most potent element of personal 
salesmanship, is utilized no less effectively on the 
printed page. A father who believes that the pos- 
session of a diamond would foster in his daughter a 
love of display and extravagance will not buy her 
one; but he might be won over by the suggestion 
that in no other way could he make so concrete and 
permanent an expression of the sentiment he enter- 
tains for her. It is often a devious mental route 
which leads to the purse-strings of the public. 

The leaders of the masses have one distinguishing 
characteristic in common — they are confident in 
affirmation. The advertiser must at all times and 
under all conditions maintain an authoritative tone. 
No one believes a man whose advertisements show 
that he does not believe in himself. 

Yet too wanton an exhibition of self-confidence is 
dangerous. The public will side with a man who 
demonstrates his leadership, but it cannot be bull- 
dozed. The results of advertising are dependent 
upon the voluntary action of free people; threats, 
scares, or pessimistic utterances never make friends 
or customers. Optimism is a confidence-inspiring 
tonic. The optimist who is tempered by self-control 
is the successful advertiser. 



108 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

A trademark indicates that each advertisement 
containing it is one of a series, and that the use of 
advertising space is the established policy of the 
house. In no other way can a merchant win con- 
fidence or establish so thorough a credit with the 
public as by advertising prudently and persistently. 
Confidence is a plant of slow growth, and persistency 
is its sun, rain, and fertilizer. A persistent advertis- 
ing campaign covering a period of three years in 
legitimate publications will seldom fail to produce a 
" good- will" asset worth at least as much as the 
amount of money spent for space during that time. 

Affirmation, optimism, self-reliance, persistence, 
and suggestion are all characteristic of forcible 
expression and can produce results not justified by 
reason, logic, or common-sense, but of course I am 
not advocating such preparation but merely empha- 
sizing the necessity of bringing to bear all forces prop- 
erly coordinated. 

(4) Is it plausible? The word "plausible" has 
been in bad company. Its exact meaning is "to tell 
a story so that it is most acceptable to the reader." 
All advertising should serve the reader. Therefore 
the truth should be plausibly told if in that way the 
reader can most easily grasp it. 

It is not enough that an advertisement tell the 
truth. The reader must believe before it can bring 
results. Good advertising copy is 100 per cent, 
salesmanship, not 125 per cent., which the wise 
buyer discounts at once, nor 75 per cent., the weak 



BUILDING AND TESTING 109 

refuge of negatively honest men who endeavor to 
conceal their own shortcomings by decrying others. 
One hundred per cent, salesmanship is the ability 
to state in an interesting and convincing (hence plaus- 
ible) manner all the desirable features of an article. 

Timely advertising inspires the belief that the 
advertiser is wide awake. From the general trend 
of events, successful general advertisers forecast 
conditions for the various seasons of the year, and 
make plans months ahead. The retailer should do 
likewise as far as possible. A patchwork campaign 
constructed from day to day in a hit-or-miss fashion 
can never bring satisfactory results. 

Should the advertiser wish to take advantage of 
some unusual event, it is very easy to substitute a 
piece of timely copy which will be in harmony both 
with what has preceded and with what is to follow. 
In conducting an editorial or a feature campaign, 
a newspaper is almost sure to create and crystallize 
a sentiment upon which an advertiser can "cash in" 
by adapting his copy to the timeliness of the reading 
pages. Plausibility is offering the public what it 
wants just when it ought to want it most in a manner 
that is most acceptable. 

Galileo's bold assertion that the world was round 
has been criticised by some as being untimely, and 
it certainly was if we judge it from the standpoint 
of the state of mind of people of his day. 

There is no doubt that a good advertising man 
could have shown Galileo how to announce his truth 



110 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

in a plausible manner so that he would have won 
honors by it and not have been compelled to recant 
to maintain the social status of his family. 

The Pope might have been approached, convinced, 
and then given the first opportunity to make a 
public announcement. 

Certainly Galileo would have fared better per- 
sonally had he followed the well-established and 
authoritative channels of dispensing knowledge to 
the people rather than to have antagonized them. 
His truth needed plausibility in its presentation, 
and modern advertising clearly recognizes this and 
makes the most of it. 

(5) Is it sincere ? The best advertisement is one 
which unconsciously influences a reader to buy, 
honestly feeling that he or she has followed his or 
her own judgment. 

The advertisement with an earnest and sincere 
message burning through it — no matter how crudely 
the idea may be expressed — will command a respect- 
ful hearing. 

Sincerity is shown in the use of simple sentences 
and terse, frank statements. There must be an 
absence of all obscurity or indirectness. 

Clearness of expression, fidelity in illustrations, 
accuracy in descriptions, are all the natural result of 
a sincere state of mind on-the part of the advertiser. 

Sincerity is something that cannot be assumed. It 
must actually exist, and where this is the case the 
matter of expression can be largely left to itself. 



BUILDING AND TESTING 111 

For immediate dollars-and-cents returns from ad- 
vertising, plausibility may be placed before sincerity. 
Yet mere plausibility in advertising, no matter how 
skillfully it has been utilized, has not built one 
genuine success. 

Plausibility backed by sincerity finds in the field 
of advertising unlimited possibilities of expression 
for the creative spirit of this age of industrial activity. 

It might be safely stated that plausibility and 
sincerity cover the whole range of advertising ex- 
pression. 

Assuming that sincerity covers a comprehensive 
knowledge of the subject, and a desire to present only 
the merits of the article to be advertised, it could be 
claimed that making one's story acceptable to the 
prospective customer was all that was necessary. 

Plausibility in its fullest sense requires a complete 
appreciation of the needs and desires (both active 
and latent) of possible buyers, and a mastery of 
ways and means by which they can be aroused, 
stimulated, crystallized, and then persistently sus- 
tained in the form of active demand. 

The subject of advertising embraces a constant 
study of human wants, needs, sentiments, aspira- 
tions, and desires, and the acquiring of skill in cater- 
ing to them. 

It gives opportunity for the use of the best abilities 
with which mankind is endowed or which may be 
acquired. 

It is not a pastime for the mediocre, the timid, 



112 AD VERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

the pessimistic, or those who are willing to devote 
anything less than complete consecration of abilities 
and powers to the work in hand. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XI 

So far as I can remember, the word "advertising" 
does not appear in Barrett Wendell's fascinating 
book with the uninviting title of "English Composi- 
tion." I question if any book has more in it of 
direct value to advertising men than this work of 
Harvard University's Professor of English, pub- 
lished by Charles Scribner's Sons (New York, 1891). 
It contains many paragraphs as pertinent as this: 

" Style, the expression of thought and feeling in 
written words, must affect readers in three distinct 
ways — intellectually, emotionally, and aesthetically. 
To the qualities in style which produce these effects 
we give the names Clearness, Force, and Elegance. 
But any piece of style presents to the eye only those 
arbitrary marks that common consent, good use, has 
made significant of those arbitrary sounds — words — 
that good use has made significant of certain more 
or less definite phases of thought and emotion. The 
qualities of style, then, can be conveyed from writer 
to reader only by means of the way in which these 
black marks are chosen and arranged — in brief, 
only by our choice and composition of words. In a 
given piece of writing, then, we may discover why a 
given quality is present or absent by analyzing the 
elements presented to the eye." 



CHAPTER XXI 

APPLICATION OF THE FIVE TESTS 

IN ORDER that the reader may have at hand 
definite material to which he can apply the 
principles outlined in the previous chapters, 
and particularly the five tests given in Chapter 
X, characteristic newspaper advertisements of John 
Wanamaker of Philadelphia, Marshall Field & Com- 
pany of Chicago, Filene's of Boston, William Taylor 
& Son of Cleveland, B. Altman & Company, Saks 
& Company, and the Rogers Feet Company of New 
York City, and the Tobey Furniture Company, 
Chicago and New York, are given here. I have 
purposely chosen firms whose advertising is gener- 
ally considered to be the best in the retail field. 

In each case the test of institutionalism is justified 
by the tone of the advertisement as a whole. 

By years of patient and continuous 

Institution- . . 

alismas advertising each one ol these stores has 
^nNewi built up a constituency which possesses 
paper Ad- individual and distinctive characteristics, 

vertisements •, -, . » » . 

and responds to a torm ot announcement 
that has stood the test of time, and suggests con- 
fidence because of familiarity. 

113 



& Attorn & (So. 



have prepared for to-morrow (Thursday) 

An Interesting Sale of 
Women's Summer Blouses 

in attractive styles and such desHrable lingerie 

fabrics as batiste, organdie and voile, 

et the exceptional prices of 

$1.90, $2.25, $3.75, $4.65 & $6.75 

In the regular stock of the Women's Blouse 
Department will be found Sports Blouses 
of imported silk Jersey, in all the desirable 
shades. These Blouses are particularly desir- 
able for golf, tennis, motor and general sports 
or travel wear. 



!. Altaian & Ota 

Tlhe Corset Department 

has ready for selection a large and compre- 
hensive assortment of Summer Corsets, 
made of the thin materials indispensable for 
warm -weather wear. Among them are 
Corsets of openwork material, plain and 
figured batiste and all-over embroidery; also 
of extremely light-weight tricot and tricotlne. 
These Corsets are shown in the regular stock 
at prices ranging from . $1.00 to 15.00 
Summer Brassieres and Soutien-gorges, 
made of net (with shields), cambric, all-over 
embroidery, silk tricotine, etc., are shown in 
the regular stock of the Corset Department 
variously priced . . at 50c. to $8.50 



FURS, RUGS AND DRAPERIES 
STORED IN VAULTS ON THE PREMISES 

(Telephone 7000 Murray Hill) 

PtiSl Asnr, 34$ «a& 35tb Strafe 2fas ?«*. 



Today and Tomorrow 
the last two days for 

Men's High & Low Shoes 
at these reductions 

Button, lace and Blucher styles, in' patent coltslrin, 
gun metal calfskin, black and brown vici kid, and 
tan Russia calf. And every pair made on a new last, 
especially designed for us, that these Shoes may 
conform to current footwear modes and yet be 
readily distinguishable from the average. 

$5 High and Low Shoes at $$.85* 
$4 High and Low Shoes at $2.95 



Men's Duster Sale 

In our Motor Apparel Dept. — today 
$7.00 Dusters at $4.78 

Mohair sad natural linen durt=r» oi •erj service- 
able quality, in single and double breasted model*. 

$12.00 Dusters at $7.80 



Imported ungees in e»y »nd t*B and . . 

fray, made m either single ox double breasted model*. 



Very special for today and tomorrow — Men's 

$1.50 Negligee Shirts 
pleated and plain 

at 95c 

No half-way merit about these values— they are simply 
great. Made of Madras, percale, crepe and mercerised 
fabrics, in a splendid assortment of designs and colors 



Extraordinary sale today and tomorrow of 

Men's $6.00 Blanket 
and Terry Bath Robes 

at $2.85 

New — not resurrected patterns — but new, snappy 
merchandise, marked at a special price for a one- 
day drive. A splendid assortment of designs. 



Broadway at 34th Street 



TO THE 
FEDERATION OF 
WOMZ.rS CLUBS: 




^1ARSHAaFIELD^(I)MPANY 



Wool Dress Goods 

Rcmiacts 



Women's Summer Dresses, Hundreds, in 
a Special Sale at $10.00 



naln.aj in oar < 



Iplcndid waib- 



eforinreMatdxeai 






ORIENTAL RUGS- 

At Prices Hard to Parallel at Any Time 

We desire as opportunity lo prove to yon by shownx? the Rugs themselves 
that th? prices ■»• quote are exceedingly low — or. looking at it from the 
other viewpoint that ihe Rugs ere remarkably fine at the pnc*» The de- 
signs are so iiidrvidual that the very express-on of a room can be changed 
by shifting the position of the Rug V/e especially commend the following 



Fine China Wedding Gifts 

At Reduced Prices, 
$1.00 to $25.00. 

Fme pieces of China from oar regular stock 
-.are been radically reduced for June Wedding 
.nit buyer* 

Attractively displayed in our newly located 

AU desirable pieces are included, from small 
3b>e Duhet to a piece of Dresden or Set* of 



W3 



CUT GLASS-LOW PRICED 

Specials as Giffa for June Brides. 





A Rare CoOertoi of 

350 Japanese 
Water Colors 






Only Seven Days More of the 
Clearance of 

COWAN FURNITURE 

The opportunity for securing pieces of this high 
grade Furniture at unprecedented prices is rapidly 
drawing to g-close. The wants of the future 
should be anticipated this week, as the op- 
portunity will probably 
never be presented again. 
Furniture for every part 
of the home is represented. 




Our new Wabash Avenue Salesroom for 
Women's Street Dresses (from $5.00 
to $25.00) has been open but one 
week. Yet during that time thou- 
sands of the women of Chicago have 
visited it drawn here by the excep- 
tional merchandise being displayed 






The Ribbon Sale Is at Its Height 



t successful c 
largest and most complete collection in Ribbons e 
has been increased every day by new exnvala As rapidly as our 
supplemented from an immense reserve — thus leaving the entire sto 
fresh Ribbon m as large variety as at any time smce the sale began 






ANNOUNCING 



HIGH GRADE FOOTWEAR 




Graduation Gifts White Novelty Crepe 

for Boy« u<j GirU. Voile, Yard, 35c 

To!icnsct regard that win Another treat White 

other events of a IHe can On* daiary Crepo Voile, 



rnteaded a treat deal of c 



Flagr. for Flag Day 

J Wool Box tlnf. 



Maids' Aprons, 
45c 

MjddVAFrooj.JOtechen 




The Newest Ideas 
Smart Blouses 




Linens for Wedding Gifts. 



Unusual preparaftoi 



«.oo. J9.oo. sio.oo.' 



Special Sale of Bed Spreads 

Imported Canterbury Cretonne Red 
Spreads with scalloped edges and BoUtrr Cov- 
ers to match, A large assortment of pretty 
patterns m pink, blue and yellow combinations 
of colon Full sue. MOO a set: three-quarter 
auc JC 50 a set: single size. $3.00 a set 

Satin Mar.iOlc' Bed Spre&ds with tcaTJovM 



Better telephone Oxford 1 and hare your Furs put in Safe Cold Storage &t once 




ALL ABOARD FOR SUMMER ^aa 



What are your summer plane— beach, moun- 
tains, or a cool piazza with a turn on the links or 
a run in the car for the cooler hours? Whatever 
they are, this store stands "ready as usual with the 
right clothes at the right price. 




In this progressive specialty store, Summer u 
a separate season, not a "tag-on" to Spring. Our 
stocks show it Scan the3e columns of store 
news. in vain for even a mention of anything that 



entirely summery 



Saving Money Is Pleasant, Even on 
Class Day and Commencement Dresses 

Tomorrow one can come into the women's dress shop and buy a channii 
lingerie frock for a Class Day campus, a white net Commencement dress, or a ail 
drees for a Class Day spread for much less than such dresses usually cost, eve 
here. , . 

Plenty of Smmaer dreesse Irons wedding govs* to street [rocks are mil, too. 



t June iriU n 

$15 for $25 Lingerie Dresses 



Figured Crepe and Velvet Ribbon prising: 



The first emhreidery-bcc-deredvoaedreeea Mad « This Vnusucd Dress at $15 

s have seen with the very long new tunic. . Only costlier dresses we believe, have 

™ , , - . * shown this bordering of long tunic and wide 

wishes or moire tfcbou. ^^ vi ^ s bUck vdvet ^^a. Mo3sac 

silk-and-cotlan thin crepe in rose, green, 

$15 for $25 ISet Commencement blue or black. Usually $22.80. 

Orestes $18.50 for $25 Crepe de Chine 

These are the result of some very dewy "Quaker" Dresses 

■ ■ ruing. The to^suecejdmol 'Dounoet, ^ ^ j, oMbu for ^ ^ ^j. 

shorter then the one above; the waist "Quaker" collar of- white organdie and the 

deep "bergere" frills; sash b taffeta- i ong bra-plaited tunic below the hips. Cool 

ihs. Hues, greens, browns, blacks ana whites. 



Satin Hats Are Gleaming 

in the Millinery Shop 

White satin or blush-rose satin hate, decked with little 
wings or wound around with a soft pink bird-breast, 

PANAMAS were never more irresistible. Here are big 
and little ones, sashed or winged, all as coo! as they look. 
KNOX sailors, borse-hair lace hats and soft crepe hats 
are other tokens of Summer in the Millinery Shop. 

up a charming Summer bet here for sur- 
ly little. $5 and S7.50. 



Women's $40 New Silk Suits, $25 

The model is the very one we have been selling in moire at $40. These 
suit* are of faille, in black, navy, blue, light blue and taupe. The fullness of the 
coat is held in with big silk cords. Long tunic skirt. 

$25 New Blue Cloth Suits at $15 $15 Cool Linen- Suits for $10 

One Is the most successful plain-tailored One has kimono sleeve coat and long 

model we have had at S25. It Is cf serge, with "fishtail" tunic. Another has Medici collar, 

button-trimmed coat arc 1 tuck sucirt -The ] ^ d ^ whils ; ^ toee . Uer ^ 

other is very similar to what the FaU suits win __,■__ ctrxsrp «nT<! a- ~.„rf„ .» <kik 

be. It is of serge and poplin with long Rus- WHITE bfchliK BUlfB ere ready at $1S 

aian tunic and Paquin coat-taiL to S-SO. 



The "Eleanor Wilson" Cape 

has come to the Women's Coat Shop. It is made in the same 
way as the one chossn by tho dangLier cf the president Tor 
hex trousseau. Black satin, Eaed with black and white stripe 
silk, tied with long ends thai pass around- the r— : *' 

Capes Have Come 
to Stay 

eapes, and capes that can go anywhere; 
in satin, duvctyne, checks, sponge or 



At 8 10.T5 are tweeds, serges and 
checks, with big cape sleeves; and loese 
boney-comb eponga capes with short 



At $15 ere wonderfully efA 
duvctyne capes with Roman strips 
moire waistcoats. Inverness cape coats 
with sleeves are 91S.50. 




Crest Brand Underwear 

1 not shrink, fits without fulness, and is cut to slay up 
) shoulder where it belongs. 

Women's Crest Brand Union Suite are 50e and more. 

Women's Crest Brand Vests are 25c and more. 




Five-Dollar Tub Skirts 



skats and belted 



June Sale of Aprons 

59c for $1 Apron Sets 

Pcretfe. gingham btkI dsambray oovfraU aprons, wltf cap * 
rimmed; dhow sleeves; busies in hoot, 

79c for'$1.25 Dress Aprons 




Girls' 
Maslia Dresses 

Flowered mnslic tunic 
dresses cdgeJ with fish- 
eye lace for gi/ts cf 9 to 



i tailored tip-flounce. Tho o 
Cotspck linen with lon^ "apron" tunic. Each is 93* 
Other Tub Skirts are »2 to 818.50. 



Swmmer Sale of Negligees 

jus. vi-.ecool, comfortshle garments that are Indispensable 
when summer rolls around. We have prepared three different 
kinds, one in crepe, one in voile, and one in crepe da chine. 

$1.50 fur $2 Flowered Crepe Kimonos 

Sfca m3?w« iocbo. Hems an ctrunray; ntxk and risers 

are Seized with plaited £hQs. 

$1S5 for $2.95 Figured Voile Neglige* 

They kx fc so cool that one esokm't feel otbenriss is than. Don 
ctjBiu i. 1 sofj of mall tod Mt-friHed minoioi. 

$5 for $8.95 Crinkled Crepe de Chine, 

ligbt ordasl leolcnjUaw woppy «S rissptt, wid Bs* ptsM 



Wm. Taylor Son & Co. fires 



" 2?££Z M M :f20lbr.blue« fI ..„ie. 

, vartancor.^h.u.i with an extra pair of trousers 

B*rt and becomiog. "^ taajui ^ ^^^ iSTr™ "*"*•* -*» <* «"■««• »lta. ibe idea) outuf 

JUdA. and taaoa. !!.» to U* *"«"»"« •»«» ^ ^^^troo^.r^ TObablo. tro«™ ot IHUo T*a* 

WtKe erasfcable felts Hit W ■ " ■ rasfHonaDI. oirira rau'tor en.., >.I| .. 

USA eacb vnm black or <rt>lia jy™ ___ «_._. arodels lor ,«,.,?* eou ,l>r »»«»* <«"'"•• »*d more staple 

Fossrala bands, on. style «t» * u " THE BEACH v ""• m * n - <„„,, ,,„, 

A delightful collection of *• Sport P W for errfoWw «.„, /„„ , te ^^-^ 

. hats and other 




boys* suits at $8.50 and $10 

* filled from no and $13 rank,, ^ Bg Mmplet . 



GirfV *««• m» 
i5<atul SO? 
Crrtrfan»d Wide brninecl 
hate that Kfj but t tatted 
band or sort to maJu them 
complete for wear 
CMps to rod ■04 frees. 
waits petnot eraies wits chip 



'««.,, te o. Doesn't hot weather make 

your boys' needs apparent? 

ssentials for lbs! Wtrtumick-rbociieTs ^ u 
boy of voura — Items grouped ,f "*'' slM3 7 ^ l6 rears. 

for your easy notation. kS™^, ?*,.£. ti 4 pair 
_ Waeh-suils Swrlallr priced Colics blouse, ..j „,,,„. „. 



fUoge 



WBBONS NOW Its 
Odds-and-ends of many 
35 styles Qualities np to 35c, 
tec. underpneed beginning today 
J~ Plans. fancr atrlpae, moire. 

■ •* brocades sna flowered rlbboaa. 
Ms good -ariciy ot rotors aad 



Boys' and Girls' 

SILK GLOVES SPECIAL SLo^F ^"^"H^P tennis Md P Ia V 

Anders close-out of two "" *" Oxfords 

qualitiesof elbow lengtlt ^tOMEHa <rrnmrTwn« Comfortable shoes for va- 

white -Ok gloves turned ova* WOMEN 8 STO0KINOS tttion ityt „, mdy , or ^ 

to you beginning today Cfese-oert for. children 

SOc a pair. «5e Qoalltj Double. Tirreao silk, black, .bile Bad Tennis sloes 

linx<l Oagere sosse colors— 55c a pair Instead Black or wblte eaarss wltb 

6Sc a pair tl quality aulas- . leather lnaolce. 

« pairs tor Btacs-aliea llti to t III 

Medium- pair 



/■nfAsf ..mt^ 

— — spliced it 

HAND-BAOS «1J3 *»«ifce» 

A special lot of leather Biaca c 

Cind-bags will be placed WOMEN'S UNIOWSDITS Ooodrear 

00 sale Saturday monuog 50c for 65c quality A 11 Ts * 

priced $1^5 instead of $230 now lot placed on sale today firl a" 



Floy-oxforda 

wen 'soles .ids ,„ 

pair— sues en to 1 



Vacation time's 
kodak time 

Cel ibe most out of sum- 
mer days and ways. 

Look up the tw new ko. 
daka Bdded to the Eastman 



Kodak supplies 

Films, plates and film. 
packs— tizea to fit any kodak; 



DRESS-UrrEN LESS 



PIKE WASHGOODS 

Black and white at ripe 



Beginning today, natural- prominence of striped 

^ color linen at 35c a yard m this season making 

stead of 65c is added to the derprices of more 
June sale. 



beginning today The Poaurea, sizes 1% a 2^ 
inence of striped voilea lacD * a firj 



Plain colors and 



dinary interest- 






loco slain 



Now for tic 

new linoleum 

you want 

> special 



lour tor n. sua ! to s 1 



WHITE WALEDS CEEPE 
An addition to the June 
—~ ' "" * «le beginning today 50c n, 

Xodd, films m<l platu d* yard for a 75c quality. are on sale in complete aha- . 

rV«/l«r aiso The Deltoeator tor Jaly JUM a Knar, nrd-ratrokjrlj 



• yard ISc qunlitr 27- An M( 

lltr lowered pnees with plenty 
for everybody and your 
JULY PATTEENS ehofoe of a big variety of new 

itierick fashions for July P""'™- 

Imported I ' 



pcrfe. Prompt dehutry 



«7n> /!»», 



isre rard— rftrsUrly 



Close-out lots of ready-to- 

wear garments for women A f ^\. . 

llOTjJndeM or spring mer. Ha^-Moo mobsir skirts, is °' lUrklSn 

fT a %ZL ,mM "* ni * ZZFtoZ-ZZttttEL' towels begins KJStSf 

«al underpricas to order to Black moire skirts, liiao foe Wc a sous 

effect a quick disposal— pro- »»!™> «P 'o jit 50 Starting today and con' ek 

viding very profitable oppor- u j" r L vi "u"' 1 * *°J ?"* •"- tiBUU,|! "" ' "» "eek-end. «s 4 attaara nrd-renlarlf 

toxuUes ,0 women .elect?.* •^^rTj-.d't, „ 8M m?ZttXG&~£, """""' 

tniUble «pp»r«l for vocation, "* "5~>l"ea» shecks east m i,. t..,l u zijc *-^' t °" * 

*»■ ^^...-cou.tris.ia..^ •££?u:'2!££'i*£Z About new outdoor 

aotb ruts- m us to i«. or at iVa. ~*™^* * "*"> sleeping cots 

£I«?ti?lo S .ie*r3.M«| l i *H!S<^SS!«t^i. , ^ M ^^'^"°^' mn - Buil,f " "^M ""'fort 

Stroog iroo coUapsiblo 
frames, coil springs And 



s. I lite 




Our hands have been fuU 
these last weeks ! 

Once again our customary 
business optimism has been 
justified 

In spite of foreboding in 
gome quarters as to the trend 
of "business, we believed that 
more men and boys than ever 
would want substantial, styl- 
ish clothing at fair prices.- 

We provided a, most lib- 
eral stock, liberal even for 
us; and that means more va- 
riety, more ample range of 
sizes than most clothiers 
ever saw; 

The month just closed, 
with, its predecessors, has 
fully justified our optimism 
r^-our business has shown a 
very healthy and satisfac- 
tory increase*- 

So we enter June with new 
enthusiasm, with renewed 
confidence that in these days 
of much exaggeration, sub- 
stantial quality, generous va- 
riety, fair prices and "your 
money back if you want it,'* 
are more appreciated than 
ever. 

Everything 1 men and boy» 
wear. 

Eogers Pebt Company, 

Three ..Broadway Storts 

*t at at 

Warren St. 13th St. U\k St. 



IF ASTOREMAVE DIFFERENT A2VZ> 
J BETTER STOCKS ITS GROWTH IS CERTAIN 



No Skyrocketing Sain 

^1B» ie joes a pish), larger 
Store, with advantageous opp 

wtth^ any fussing end 



We do not give Orders to take fee 
quality oa$ of the foods to enable us to 
reduce prices, bet, consider the nimble 
sixpence better than th» slow sMDiae, 
'jeZsving in holding ^p dualities, and 
giving' fall measure" even at' smaller 

We find ourselves better off "ay reason 
of the larger sales. 

If ail purchasers had a 



r Kno<rtelge«Me laea 
of values, they would s 



into their systems, 



aiy cf ptuBPine oxygen 



.. Bulletins-from the 
Women's Fashion Salons 




Samples of Neckwear 
—Hand Embroidered 



~;fc^^ 



Summer's cottoii -falffics for 
toes and dresses 

n njumlly pretty U»li i«*** VU *rT J»0- 

erasoa and dace* Irociu m weD a* blouse* 



Wonderful Frocks 
for Little Girte 

Snenl Ma**! rtlte tra*a for Hrli of to to 

Itt'fl d »ldn!- *.°ro« -^ap ti 
«■ ,A>STaB)SU0tsan en ami etrisa t 



Madeira Lunch Set& 
New as June Roses 



Xw la Ok Tetrtr Unral Sato 



Guk 



Una <*■ at Fitti 

— f*0jb wort is. tAf 



FtJeraticw of Arts, tt. 

RtW^'t, Sk£& o 
fl«Wf An, ArAiUOt 



Camtue, of $lana 

fcenlaa i&3s'5mpotfatioii 

j&Bh&umm jHiflinerp 
in pint, anb eSfnte 



Radical Changes in 
Silk Sports Coats 



A dtfat7 «=orft to Tth* bUA M4 d* re** «a, «* 



vj;^' = 



Low-Priced Dress Lengths 
.1 of Summer Silk* 



BST time at J&85 for thoes acna 
de chine kimonos 




£foffe Special 

8500 Pair of Women's Fabric ffloves 
at 35c to 85c 

.Desiirfio turn area-point, tfeese stores » «f the 



fVesii iV«o £u£rs for PorcA 
and Bungalow 

sgy^a^s"'..''"'" °r "TT 



The Blankets Our Boys 
Are; tTsing in Mexico 



The "Bail B«ari" Bot 8«Ht Blanket 

aJkielj s<!optsd by the Boy SaMt onrazjsatta, of the 
toted State a sold In tin s^jio aaly Is FlUUi 
Tojit 6 pcxjtis. oris 19. fcjtorfcli dl-aool aiimf. 



This Fine Furniture Is 
to Buy! 



of. th» stto tehle, St Hchu tat, iHJ, nre iWvn ml 



lo this gnu; miooJ mehonooj bulfc 
•I*. Shersfcl defifo, ilth tan raoD 

iS« ; T^fet , 3-'fT»w.M ft ' 



A Vital Question About 
China Sets is — 




iViptt; for (rreat* Savings in Women's and Girls' Summer 
Clothing in thk Store on the Subway Floor 

WonaiVand, young women 1 ? Summer clothing of.aD I enough to insure it All Kinnents.ir. the .latest styles and 
sorts assembled for a great' day's business and Jprieed low | seasonable to the minute. 



iSnfts 
jfc.se— S7odu 
fate? tanned, msco 



At tlta — 1« east* 
■utasn d a Ksh jtkSo, la 



*SgPa,' 



S'ls^a?'' 
1 Al'IS- 

Sn o* maiertaiaf^Se 

At'p ^Q-C 

eoSssa and «« 
At ««&.««■" «"*- 



Si? 
_"- - 

oau-of tsa aaaaos. 
At tS.Tt_Som« aid 
At f*^5 — Asset SO ytmt itomaos caps oatta, me fcsslc;. trlasaad vltb 



fan.Kd «tb i 



peas da doth eb.1 



^^- 



; ssscle Tit , 754 — IN »1tV 

I, 10, Ui™sasa.it*s«loHj«j.; 
- ' ': a»tj*rl?t 



" . ," "'^-_,- " 



HtffftiSt 



^^,-:-- t "*^- 






At u.~n BaMmsifcal 
Wee, Witi'S&'&JS 



• fr: front; pxjah/ *hrta. 



U~&°5i7.":-i' 1 s,'.L I 



L la peak. rooa. Klla 



&. 



s£W?£ 



TOBEY-MADE FURNITURE 

— is the achievement of an artistic ideal* 
rather than of a commercial ambition. It is 
a product of the fine arts, rather than of a 
manufacturing process. It is the result of 
a sincere and deliberate intention to attain 
perfection, rather than of a strained attempt 
to outdo business competition. 

The beauty of Tobey-Made Furniture is not 
only in the richly grained surfaces of the rare 
woods from which it is made, or in the 
always graceful lines of its designs, or in the 
exquisiteness of its carvings and decorations. 
It is an organic beauty — that of perfect 
structure, of fine workmanship throughout, 
of consistent execution of the parts which 
are not exposed to view. 

Tobey-Made Furniture is the fruition of two 
fenerations of experience and single-purposed 
effort. It is neither experimental nor outre. 
It represents the faithful and ri£id applica- 
tion of the highest standards of design and 
craftsmanship. It has lon& been in service 
in some of this country's finest residences, 
and exclusive clubs. 

With the Tobey Service in interior decora- 
tion, it offers an opportunity which we 
earnestly invite you to investigate. 

The Tobey Furniture Company 

NEW YORK STORE, Fifth Avenue at 53rd Street 
CHICAGO STORE, Wabash Avenue and Washington Street 



i:'i 



Tobey-Madtf 
Furniturei* 
sold only by 
the two 
stores of this 
Company. Each 
piece bears this 
mark, in copper: 




120 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Even a man with only a limited knowledge of 

human nature can easily perceive, after reading any 

Cities one °^ these advertisements, the general 

Have characteristics of the typical person who 

LTistztzitzow clL 

Character- trades at that particular store. Even the 

ishcs institutional characteristics of the cities 
themselves are reflected in the manner of ap- 
proach. 

For example, New England thrift and widespread 
education is suggested in the Filene advertisement: 
"Saving Money Is Pleasant, even on Class Day and 
Commencement Dresses." In William Taylor & 
Son's advertisement, " 630 Euclid Avenue," is a subtle 
reminder of a beautiful street which has made Cleve- 
land famous the world over. 

Where else but in Philadelphia would the im- 
portations of Camille, of Paris, and "Radical 
Changes in Silk Sports Coats" be followed by "Low 
Price Dress Lengths?" 

What is more characteristic of the Chicago spirit 

than the statement, in the Marshall Field & Company 

advertisement, that the "New Wabash 

Distinctive Avenue Salesroom for Women's Street 

Chicago J) resses has been open but one week. Yet 

Character r 

during that time thousands ot women of 
Chicago have visited this addition." 

The formal, conventional announcement of B. 
Altman & Company is characteristic of Fifth Avenue. 
The announcements of Saks & Company and the 
Rogers Peet Company breathe the spirit of the 



APPLICATION OF THE FIVE TESTS 121 

"Great White Way." The Tobey advertisement 

reflects what New York and Chicago possess in 

common. Ail these advertisements are 

Store is institutional in reflecting the spirit of 

* Bi o the cities in which they are located, 

the group spirit of the particular classes 

to which the store appeals, the institutional spirit 

of the store itself, and its attitude toward that 

portion of the public which it sells. 

Most advertisements which represent positive 
constructive work fail of their complete mission in 
that they would be equally valuable to a competi- 
tor, merely by changing the name of the advertiser. 

But each one of the advertisements exhibited here 
fully meet Test No. 2, "Is it specific?" All of 
them give descriptions and prices, except the Rogers 
Peet Company, which, however, emphasizes partic- 
ularly the one thing which could not be said of 
any of its competitors: "Three Broadway Stores." 

Each one of these announcements is consistent in 

illustration, typography, and diction. And there 

can be little doubt that in institutions so 

Detail we ll managed, where every detail is care- 
C o[ e fi ll ] / fully planned, so that the best interests 
of the consumer will be promoted con- 
stantly, the space given to each department bears a 
consistent relation to the business as a whole. 

Test No. 3, "Is it Forcible?" applies with special 
force to each one of theseannouncements. The student 
of advertising can well afford to analyze them carefully, 



n* ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

determining to what extent sentiment has been ap- 
pealed to by these conspicuously successful advertisers. 

Every one knows that each one of the firms whose 

advertisements we have reproduced is in business 

to make money. But in each announce- 

ls Always ment the thought made most prominent 

th fB asis is service to the consumer, proving that 

each advertiser believes that sentiment is 

the mainspring of action and controls the expenditure 

of money more often than do reason and logic. 

Persistency is suggested in each one of our exhibit 
advertisements by the trademark signature or head- 
ing, which is individual and characteristic. 

My readers will agree with me, I am sure, that Test 
No. 4, "Is it Plausible?" is completely met by 
each one of these announcements. 

Test No. 5, "Is it sincere?" also is satisfied. 
We all know that the merchandising methods of each 
one of these advertisers are sound, and that they 
make only claims which are absolutely backed by 
their merchandise. 

One of the paradoxes of advertising is the fact 
that the store of B. Altman & Company, at Thirty- 
fourth Street and Fifth Avenue, New York, bears 

. „ no sign whatever. Yet everybody knows 

Without it is Altman' s store. 

a ign The fundamentally sound merchandis- 

ing ideas according to which Mr. Altman established 
this business, during a busy and thoroughly useful 
life, still dominate its policy. Its advertising de- 



APPLICATION OF THE FIVE TESTS 123 

serves careful study by those who believe, as I do, 
that the true mission of advertising is the expression 
of salesmanship which best serves the buyer. 

Altman's advertising has been criticised as being 
too dignified and lacking characteristics which are 
supposed to be essential to successful advertising 
copy. Yet it may well be questioned whether to the 
Altman group of purchasers any other form of an- 
nouncement would be so pleasing. 



TOUiffiWANTTO KNOW ALL ABOUT THE FAMOUS 



KinOersois 

ISP* ^Watches 

y A PostCaxs mu ssung Or., m *J*a a Sahpse 

YANKEE* VIZ GREAT LEADER OF THE LINE. 



' i !; . <: i.L 



The first Ingersoll watch advertisement, 189B 
(Actual size) 

Mr. William H. Ingersoll, of Robert Ingersoll & 
Brother, has favored me with a copy of the first 
advertisement which his house put out, in 1893; also 
with a full page in the Saturday Evening Post of 
November 2, 1912, which he believes is the best 
advertisement they have ever published. 

The history of the Ingersoll watch is particularly 
interesting, because it opened up and thoroughly 
The Five occupied a new field. 

Tests A?- No one in position to speak authorita- 
Magazine tively claims that the Ingersoll watch has 

Advertising j n any way inter f ered with the gale Q f 

watches of higher price. 



1U AD VEftTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Many persons own and use an Ingersoil watch for 
hunting* fishing, and other purposes s because they 
do not care to risk the loss or misuse of a higher- 
priced article. 

The first advertisement put out by the Ingersoil 
watch is interesting as a bit of history; the full page 
meets all the five tests. 

The universal and constant appeal of the kodak is 

splendidly expressed in the Eastman Kodak Com- 

The Secret P anv announcement; but coupled with it 

of Success i s an immediate sales-impelling suggestion 

m Eastman ... . . n . . 

Kodak which must produce dennite, positive busi- 

Advertising nesg> 

We are all constantly confronted with the necessity 
of deciding what to give as a wedding present, and 
the assistance which the Eastman Kodak Company 
gives one here is service indeed. 

By reproducing the package, the Old Dutch Cleanser 
announcement makes the best possible use of the 

Keeping sa ^ es ta ^ °f specialty men who call on the 
the Demand re tail trade, house-to-house canvassers, and 

Active for _ 

Old Dutch store demonstrators. 
Cleanser j n j^ e manner -ft^ reference to definite 

specific information on the package means the in- 
creased use of Old Dutch Cleanser in homes where 
now it is perhaps bought and used for only one 
purpose. 

The American Telephone and Telegraph Com- 
pany's advertisement is especially commendable for 
accomplishing what is obviously its purpose. Com- 



APPLICATION OF THE FIVE TESTS 125 

petition between telephone systems is not service 

to the ultimate buyer if rates are reasonable and 

the scope of service is continually en- 

Advertising x . 

to Enhance larged. As long as the American lele- 
Confi ence pj 2one an( j Telegraph Company indicates, 
by its announcements, that it desires to give the public 
service, people generally are much more apt to be- 
lieve that it is sincere in that purpose than they 
would be if it maintained a dignified silence on the 
subject. 

The general effect of the Swift advertisement is 

particularly good, although I am generally afraid of 

Focussing wn ^ e letters on a black background, except 

Demand on f or a brief heading in large letters. Legi- 

Premium bility is always sacrificed, to some degree 

Ham at least. 

This advertisement contains valuable information 
for housewives. The specific point made is bound to 
influence the buyer to specify "Swift's Premium 
Ham," instead of saying merely that she wants 
"some good ham." 

The Hydraulic Press Brick advertisement deals 
with a ticklish subject in a frank, straightforward 
The Subtle manner. The expression of their confi- 
Handling of dence, in putting it up to the architect, is 
Press Brick sure to impress him favorably. The ser- 
Advertismg y j ce f£ ere( j ] 1 i m> by giving him genuine 

information in the booklets, is a subtle and com- 
mendable appeal for the good-will of house 
builders. 



126 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The National Lead advertisement makes a most 

effective appeal to sentiment. They are fortunate 

in that there exists in the minds of painters 

Appeal to niii i 

theSenti- generally throughout the country a deep- 

Naliofud sea ted prejudice in favor of lead and oil as 

Lead against mixed paints. Their desire to 

maintain this sentiment and create the 

impression of being willing to give valuable advice 

when requested, is good business judgment. Their 

sales prove it. 

The Quaker Oats advertisement deserves special 

commendation. The economy of the 25-cent size 

is emphasized, without sacrificing the ap- 

QuakerOats ... ,. * -, „ 

AdveHise- petizmg suggestion ot good oats well 

me %^rZd l COoke(i - Tile fine tyP e m tne Sma11 P ara " 

graph reiterates the strong points of pre- 
vious advertisements. The cumulative effect se- 
cured in this way is one of the most valuable assets 
of an advertising campaign. 

The Holeproof Hosiery announcement is unusually 
effective in illustration, two women and one man, 
thus laying particular stress upon the fact that 
Holeproof Hosiery is made for men and women, 
especially "women." 

The Ivory Soap advertisement is interesting be- 
cause of the amount of space given to the illustra- 
tion. In marketing a 5-cent soap the manufacturer 
must create an atmosphere of quality which will 
offset the impression made by its low price. But he 
sometimes finds this difficult. The Proctor & Gam- 



The Watch that made the Dollar Famous 








Thin 

Model 

'Gentlemen's 

Cclipse" 

$150 




Wafclies 



Thirty million Americans have bought and timed their 
lives by the Ingersoll watch. More than half of all the 
watches now made in this country are Ingersolls, — 
14,000 every day. 

By sheer force of utility the Ingersoll has overcome the incredu- 
lity that naturally attaches to low price and has been adopted 
into every nook and corner of American life. 
Side by side with such men as Thomas Edison and Glenn Curtiss, 
the street urchin, the business man, the clerk, the school-child 
and the laborer mark time with the Ingersoll. All find it suffi- 
cient for practical needs. 

People now pride themselves on buying satisfactory watch service 
at the lowest cost. To wear an Ingersoll has become a badge of 
thrift and enlightened recognit ion of today's mechanical attainments. 
There is an Ingersoll for every one. The four models shown on 
this page take care of the needs of men and boys who want 
small, thin watches. The " Midget " at $2.00 is being adopted by 
Our nation of women and is the most satisfactory of all watches 
for girls and little boys. 

Ingersoll watches are sold in every town and hamlet by over 
60,000 dealers. Booklet free. 

Robt H. Ingersoll & Bro., 21 Ashland Bldg., New York 




Small 
Thin 
Model 

"Junior 
• 00 




The "Midget- the watch for. a woman's handbag and a child's pocket 



1 ** 




(")F all the gifts that fit the 
wedding day, — none so 
timely as the one that provides 
the means for telling the picture 
story of that day,— 

A Kodak 

If it isn't an Eastman, it isn't a Kodak. 



EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, 

ROCHESTER, N, Y., The Kodak City, 



Catalogue free at your dealer's, 
or by mail. 



pid Dutch 
'Cleanser 



■l: 



Wm 




The Energizer of Business 



IN a metropolitan power-house 
there must be generators large 
enough to furnish millions of 
lights and provide electrical cur- 
rent for thousands of cars and 
factories 

Each monster machine with 
the power of tens of thousands 
of horses is energized by an 
unobtrusive little dynamo, 
which is technically known as 
an "exciter." 

This exciter by its electric im- 
pulse through all the coils of the 



generator brings the whole mech- 
anism into life and activity. 

A similar service is performed 
for the great agencies of business 
and industry by the telephones 
of the Bell System. They cany 
the currents of communication 
everywhere to energize our 
intricate social and business 
mechanism. 

United for universal service, 
Bell Telephones give maximum 
efficiency to the big generators of 
production and commerce. 



American Telephone and Telegraph Company 
And Associated Companies 

One Policy One System Universal Service 



It is not necessary to parboil 

Swift's Premium Ham 

before broiling or 

frying, for it is 

given a mild I 

sugar cure and : 

smoked over 

hardwood fires. 

Each process is 

carried to a point \ 

that gives exactly J» *$Z& 

the right flavor. *■ ^^i 



Order 





ee your architect now 

That step insures your greatest 

satisfaction in the home you build 

Jj this Spring. Ask him about 

ff|" Hy-tex BricK 

BEaEB^am the facing-material which gives the utmost of beauty, 
M HjBlgl gil permanence, fire-safety and comfort in all extremes of 
B J B 55IB weather. And gives them to you at the greatest econ- 

|H^ "55 om y m ^ e * on £ run# 

jHjjtirvtM EET ~-^t The booklets mentioned below tell you of the superiority of Hy-tex 

MBnBBsJlliESi anc * ' ts adaptability to all styles and sizes of homes. 

^S^SSS!- "Genuine Economy in Home Building" — a handsome, 64-page book 

W^KJfP* ISsffi ^w l illustrated in colors explains these savings in detail. Sent for ten cents. 

i "Suggestions for Small Hy-tex Homes" is a booklet of helpful 

E£i&£3&£j tSiffifefc^ Pkns for homes of moderate cost. Sent for four cents. Write for 
these booklets today 






HYDRAULIC-PRESS BRICK COMPANY 

Dept. L-l St. Louis, Missouri 



Branch Offices: Baltimore, Md.; Chicago, I!!.; Cleveland, O.; Davenport, 

. — . la.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kansas City Mo.; Minneapolis, Minn.; New York 

J I ' ■" • ■•'■ I Ci 'v: Omaha, Neb.; Philadelphia. Pa.; Toledo. ( 





Unexpected 



"Why, John, you said it was an old house!" 

"And so it is. But the painter has been at work. That's 
the difference." 

A house is only as old as it looks. A house painted in colors 
tastefully selected and with paint mixed of 

Dutch Boy White Lead 

and Dutch Boy linseed oil looks new, and long retains that look 
of freshness. Such paint wears long and smoothly, without 
cracking and scaling. Consult your painter as John did his. 
Make your house new. No other improvement so satisfactory 
can be made for the same money. 

Write for our Paint Adviser No. 153 — a group of helps, Free 



NATIONAL LMI) COMPANY 



Now York Boston 

Buffalo Chicago 

i T. Lewis & Bros. Co.. Philadelphia) 



Cleveland 
isco St. Louis 

ill Lead & Oil Co.. Pittsburgh) 



10% More for Your Money 

Quaker Oats is now put up also in a 25-ccnt size, nearly three 
times as large as the 10-cent size. By saving in packing it offers 
you 10 per cent more for your money See how long it lasts. 





The very aroma of Quaker Oats tells its exquisite flavor. You 
know before you taste it that there's choiceness in this dish. 

Only the big grains yield that aroma. And, without the 
Quaker process, it could never be kept intact. 

That's why Quaker Oats is distinctive. 

We get that flavor and we preserve it. We discard all the 
grams which lack it, so the flavor is never diluted. 

If you enjoy it, you can alwavs get it by simply saying 
"Quaker." And without any extra price. 



Rolled from the Largest Grains 



We set but ten pounds of Quaker 
Oats from a bushel, because of this 
•selection. But those arc the luscious 
flakes. The others are good enough for 
horses, but not for boys and girls. 

We started to do that 25 years ago, 
and the fameof l hisflavor spread. Now 
a hundred nations send here to get 
Quaker Oats. And millions of children 
cf every clime enjoy it every morning. 



abounds in the elct 
brains and nerves, 
"the food of foods.' 



that 



Oat! 






makes it inviting 
eat half enough. 

That's why we suppl; 
and why you ought to 
to get it is always easj 
sold in half a million stc 



Serve Quake 
Small servings 
show in full its 



few children would 

"it. "And 
Quaker is 



Oats in large dish 

ire not sufficient 
as-producing pow 



:ls anything else > ou kn. 

10c and 25c per'Package 
Except in far West and South 

The large ZS-cent package gives ten per cent more for the mc 

The Quaker Qats (bmpany 




"No More Darning for You, Mother— 

This Holeproof Six Months' 



MADAM, why does your family wear stock- 
ings and socks that need darning every 
week ? Here is hosiery that doesn't need 
darning — socks and stockings for men, women, children 
and Infants. 

Six pairs of Holeproof will wear half a year with- 
out holes or tears. That is guaranteed. If any of 
the six pairs fail in that time we will replace them 
with new hose free. Tell your family about them. 
They don't want you to darn for them. And none 
of them likes the discomfort of darned hose. 

For 14 Years 

For 14 years hundreds of thousands of people have 
worn no other hosiery than Holeproof. 

More than 1,000,000 people ask for Holeprool 
today in thousands of stores in the United States. 

Europe is sending for thousands of boxes. And 
we are operating a factory in Canada. 



Guarantee Settles That" 

Pure Worth 

We go to extremes to get the finest materials. 
We use the world's highest-priced cotton yarns. Wo 
could buy yarns in this country for less than half 
what we pay. 

But we use yarn of an extra-long fibre which means 
pliability, light weight, softness and strength. 

No other yarn permits better style. And we 
produce Holeproofs in all the smartest 

Sold Everywhere 

TOe genuine Holeproofs 
names on request, or ship 



I in your town. Well send the dealers' 

where there's no dealer near, charges 

We make Holeproofs for men and 



Ve have the heavier weights for winter. You will never hai 
2 darning to do once your pcoplr k.ini the reasons of Holeproofs 



HOLEPROOF HOSIERY COMPANY, Milwaukee. Wisconsin 



HoleppoD, 

JIM. FOR v-^M EN. WOMEN 





FOR WOMEN ™ u m whoiil n ! 



produced. Made in all lengths, 
>r the illustrated book that tells all a 




' - 

y 

Red 



8!T is the little personal touches about a home that count. The artistic hanging of a drapery, the 
1 harmonious grouping of furniture, the sunny freshness of a newly washed curtain, the glowing 
§ cleanness of ornaments and bric-a-brac — such things as these help make home homelike and show 
s not merely industry on the part of the housekeeper but a knack of properly caring for fine things, 
ced to its simplest form, this knack of keeping silver, china, linens, laces, upholstery, etc., at their best is nothing 
than a knowledge of the possibilities of Ivory Soap. 

Of course, special hints, sometimes are helpful such as the 

door panel. But the one thing necessary is to realiz 

attempted with soap may be accomplished to entire s 

Booklet of Unusual Ivory Soap Recipes Free 

il uses we have compiled a booklet of about 100 recipes 

These recipes will be found exceedingly interesting and 

; of Ivory Soap." 




is below for rehanging a lace 
any things ordinarily never 
i with the mild, pure Ivory. 



ceptl. 



V Addr, 



. may have a copy by asking for " Unus 
nble Co., Department 1 6. Cincinnati. Ohi, 



IVORY SOAP . 




99»* PURE 












m 

m 



\% 




n 


1 ^™^ 




P^ 


ife^ n 


"V j \ ; .:~4 




w. 



; 












... 



You are going to see some interesting things 
in our clothes for spring 

FOR $25 and upward, you can buy clothes made from imported fabrics 
which formerly cost you considerably more. We are combining better 
fabrics with our fine tailoring at no increase in price. 

The finest imported weaves which have heretofore been used for the cost- 
Ifest custom tailoring are available to us under the new tariff law. Stripes, 
plaids^ black and whites, and gray and whites are some of the principal effects. 
Decorations are mostly in silk. 

Style features of the new season are simple, yet striking. In young men's 
clothes, they follow the shape of the figure; no padding; wider lapels and 
collars; shorter coats, smaller sleeves, narrow shoulders, softer draping. Men's 
styles, while more conservative, tend in the same direction. 

In our Style Book for spring, you will see all the new styles portrayed in a 
series of artistic and interesting pictures; you can ascertain where, in your city or 
town, our clothes may be seen and bought. 



Hart Schaffner & Marx 



Chicago 



Foreign Offic 



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Mm.H-- .- ■ rmm^m^^W^' 



144 V>* Sf 




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AKilipp LOa TJ ill 0| 




PERHAPS you are "loafing on yourself" without realizing it. 
The man who "dreams " about a higher position is a "self -loafer." 
It is an absolute fact that the most difficult problem of the 
greatest employers in the world is to secure men for big positions. 

Marshall Field, one of the greatest merchants in the world, publicly 
claimed that his greatest difficulty was to secure trained men capable of 
filling positions paying $25,000 a year. 



It is all 

the matter of training, 

not dreaming 

We can give you proved records of 
thousands of men who have climbed 
from the dreamer's class to the director's 
class through the training of the 
International Correspondence Schools. 
We will show you how to do it. 

Whether you live in the flood-wrecked 
city of Nome, Alaska — in a sun-baked 
adobe cabin of Arizona — or in the great 
commercial centers, the I. C. S. will show 
you how to improve your position and 
increase your salary. 

All we ask you to do is to sign and 
mail the I. C. S. coupon as directed. 
This places you under no obligation. It 
simply brings to you FREE information 
how to secure the training that has made 
the success of thousands of men who 
thought they were "down and out." 

Mark and mail the coupon today 



INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOLS 

Box 841 SCRATNTOIS, PA. 

Explain, without any obligation on my part, how 
cap Qualify for the position before which I mark j 



Salesmanship 
Electrical Engineer 
Elec. Lighting Supt. 

Electric Car Running 
Electric Wireman 
Telephone Expert 
Architect 

BuildingContractor 
Architectural Draftsman 
Structural Engineer 
Concrete Construction 
Mechan. Engineer 
Mechanical Draftsman 
Refrigeration Engineer 
Civil Engineer 
Surveyor 

Mine Superintendent 
Metal Mining 
Locomotive Fireman &Eng. 
Stationary Engineer 
Textile Manufacturing 
Gas Engines 



Civil Service 
Railway Hail Clerk 
Bookkeeping 
StenographyATvpewrltlng 
Window Trimming 
Show Card Writing 
Lettering & Sign Painting 
Advertising . 
Commercial Illustrating 
IndustrialDesigning 
Commercial Law 
Automobile Running; 
Teacher 

English Branches 
Good English for Every One 
Agriculture 
Poultry Farming 
Plumbing * Steam Fitting 
Sheet Metal Worker 
Navigation Spanish 

Langnages French 

Chemist German 



Name . 



Present Employer . 

Street and No 

Oit.v 



APPLICATION OF THE FIVE TESTS 127 

ble Company has shown great wisdom in illustra- 
tion. In this particular advertisement, illustra- 
tion and text strengthen each other; each adds 
to the force of the other. The title of the book- 
let suggests increased service to people who are 
already using Ivory Soap by teaching them new 
uses for it. 

The Hart, Schaffner & Marx advertisement is an 

interesting departure from the style which they used 

The Mail- ^ or man y years — the ideal figure, in a 

order idea natural pose, his clothes showing creases 

in General - . _ . , , , 

Publicity and wrinkles wherever they occur when 

Advertising actually WO rn. 

The mail-order idea, i.e., to give more informa- 
tion to people who ask for it, is the keynote of this 
particular advertisement. The effect of a fine 
style book, sent to all who write for it, is far-reach- 
ing. 

Inquiries from high-class prospects handed to the 
travelling salesmen and properly used by them in 
talking to local dealers are bound to stimulate the 
dealers to use the advertising helps which Hart, 
Schaffner & Marx sell their agents. I use the word 
"sell" because this firm sensibly takes the stand 
that advertising material which is given away free 
is valued accordingly. A price which partially 
covers the cost of production is the best assurance 
that the dealer will make the most effective use 
of it. 

As examples of effective mail-order advertising I 



128 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

have reproduced three Sears, Roebuck & Company 

announcements (indicating the wide scope of this 

Comments successful mail-order institution) and one 

order Ad- °^ *he advertisements of the National 

vertisements Cloak & Suit Company. 

The latter makes the most of the word "National"; 
also of its New York City location, which, to a large 
group of buyers, stands for that intangible something 
called "style." 

The Sears-Roebuck announcements are character- 
istics in that the successful mail-order house seeks, 
first of all, to get the catalogue, their real salesman, 
into the hands of persons who have been induced to 
express a desire to possess it. 

I have reproduced only two outdoor advertise- 
ments. Mr. O. J. Gude told me that he considers 
the White Rock electric sign the best thing that has 
ever been done in that line. 

It may seem difficult to apply the five tests to an 
electric sign, a bulletin, or a poster, but I recom- 
mend making the attempt, for the reasons previously 
given. 

Take the White Rock sign, for instance. Is it 
institutional? It stood on Long Acre Square, the 
night centre of New York City, the place to which 
come the largest number of free spenders from all over 
the United States. 

White Rock, as a trademark, has been associated 
with sales talks and educational advertising all over 
the United States. Its reproduction here reiterates, 



APPLICATION OF THE FIVE TESTS 129 

reaffirms, and reinforces all that has been said about 
it, The night life of New York City is an institution 
in itself, and the White Rock sign, with its brilliant 
light, was in complete harmony with this institutional 
spirit. 

It is specific (Test No. 2) because the White Rock 
trademark, in its peculiar, distinctive form, is ac- 
curately reproduced. 

It is forceful in suggesting a high-ball, because 
White Rock appeals to the men who drink high-balls 
as well as to those who want a drink which does not 
seem cheap or puritanical. 

The suggestions of persistency and authority (both 
forceful elements) are contained in the size and loca- 
tion of the sign. 

Certainly the story is plausibly told. The clock 
adds much to the acceptability of the broad sugges- 
tion, "for all time." The sincerity of an institution 
which spends so much money to tell its story is not 
open to question. 

It is certain that the orderly and systematic ap- 
plication of these five tests to any piece of printed 

The Fi e ma ^ er ' or *° anv announcement of any 

Tests Can kind, in newspapers, magazines, or out- 
to Any F Ki7id °^ oor display, will stimulate greater care in 

of Adver- the preparation of copy and more attention 
to the interests of the final buyer, thereby 
benefiting the advertiser's business as a whole. 



CHAPTER XIII 

ADVERTISING AND SELLING THROUGH THE ORDINARY 
CHANNELS OF TRADE 

BROADLY speaking, there are five recognized 
routes by which merchandise travels from the 
man who makes it to the consumer. 
Perhaps the most important is (1) from manufac- 
turer to wholesaler or jobber, from the wholesaler to 
the retailer, and from him to the consumer. 

The place of the retailer in the distributive chain 

is universally conceded. Mail-order successes prove 

that many kinds of goods can be marketed 

Retailer— by mail. But the retailer will always 

Hnk^the handle the bulk of the supply of the Amer- 

i Merchant ican family. 

The retailer's stock is complete, if he 
be progressive and easy of access. Merchandise 
can be seen before it is purchased. Very often the 
credit which the retailer can extend is a real service, 
which brings him a goodly share of the business of 
his trade territory. 7 

The position of the wholesaler may not be so 
clearly defined. At first glance it might seem that 
the toll he exacts might better be taken from the sell- 



ADVERTISING AND SELLING 131 

ing price and his service dispensed with. It would 
not pay, generally. He has a function, and is in- 
dispensable in most cases. He keeps a 
Functions finger on the pulse of local conditions. The 
- of the manufacturer can afford to sell to him at 

Wholesaler 

less than the price to the retailer, for the 
service the jobber renders could not be duplicated 
by the manufacturer for the differential he allows 
him. 

The wholesaler buys in much larger quantities than 
the ordinary retailer does. He relieves the manu- 
facturer of all work and detail in connection with 
credits, selling small orders, and collecting small 
accounts. He pays for what he buys and assumes 
entire responsibility for his own sales. He is par- 
ticularly indispensable to the manufacturer of an 
article of comparatively small consumption. 

In such cases the volume of sales to each retailer 
is so small that it would be foolish for the manufac- 
turer to do business with individual retailers, either 
direct or through salesmen. 

The wholesaler is of great value to the retailer 

who does business on a small amount of capital. 

His stock is large. Retailers in his terri- 

The 

Wholesaler tory can draw upon it and get the goods at 
asanAidto once . so that it is not necessary for them to 

the Retailer m • i 1 

cumber their small space with large quan- 
tities of each of the lines they handle. The whole- 
saler is safe in granting credit, because he is on the 
ground and knows the retailer's financial status. 



132 AD VERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Some manufacturers selling privately branded 
goods in staple lines of steady consumption give the 
exclusive sale of it to one jobber in a territory. 
Tke This gets more cooperation from the jobber, 
Exclusive for if he has the right kind of a contract, 
an he is building for himself as well as for the 
manufacturer. The exclusive jobber plan has been 
successful, especially when supported by general ad- 
vertising. Specialties of small consumption have 
never been marketed advantageously through ex- 
clusive jobbers; this method is feasible only when 
it is possible to divert an established demand to 
an advertised, trademarked brand. It will not create 
a market for a novelty. It would not do for an un- 
branded article. 

Most manufacturers sell to all reputable jobbers. 

They cannot expect these jobbers to put any special 

Tk effort into selling their goods, because the 

Advertiser jobber specializes on distributing, and is 

ateHiT n °t equipped for creative selling. It is, 

Market--^ therefore, the business of the manufacturer 

the Jobber . . . 

Is a to create his own market — by advertising 
Distributor to ^ consumerj by interesting the dealer 

with specialty work, and by trade journal publicity. 

Almost all manufacturers who distribute their 
products nationally through the wholesaler do some 
specialty work on retailers at their own expense. 
The orders taken by the specialty salesmen are filled 
through the wholesaler, who takes over the accounts. 
The wholesaler can fill the orders more promptly, he 



ADVERTISING AND SELLING 133 

is better equipped for looking after repeats, and he 
assumes the retailer's accounts. These functions 
make his service worth while to the consumer, re- 
tailer, and manufacturer. 

Some manufacturers put up goods under jobber's 
private brands. But it militates against the manu- 
facturer who wants to sell his own brands, and against 
the one who sells bulk goods. It is, nevertheless, 
legitimate competition. 

Many manufacturers sell direct to the retailer— the 
second channel. 

The manufacturer who sells through an exclusive 
dealer eliminates the wholesaler. 
o ... , This method has been so highly devel- 

Retailer oped in connection with national adver- 
tising in mediums of general circulation 
that I treated it in a separate chapter. 

Selling direct to all dealers can scarcely be said to 
lower the price to the consumer, or to lower the man- 
ufacturer's selling cost, or even to increase the retail- 
er's profit. For the manufacturer must take care of 
more detail in his office, must increase his travelling 
sales expenses in most cases, and must assume re- 
sponsibility for retailers' accounts, which means more 
bad debts. 

He may sell to retailers direct or through sales- 
men, and pocket the wholesaler's commission. But 
if he is after volume and big business, I doubt 
whether he would save money by eliminating the 
wholesaler. 



134 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The advantage of direct selling is that it gives the 
manufacturer a more intimate knowledge of selling con- 
ditions, a closer grip on his own business. 
for Selling It gives him the master's share, and the 
power to extend substantial cooperation, if 
his product is good and his organization can maintain 
a volume of sales which justifies his sales expenditure. 

Some manufacturers sell to both retailers and 
wholesalers. But if they sell to a retailer in the 
logical trade territory of a wholesaler to whom they 
have also sold, there will surely be friction. To sell 
the retailer at less than the wholesaler's regular price 
to him is not in accordance with the ethics of the trade. 

Large retail stores that go direct to a manufacturer 
and demand wholesale prices are another problem, 
if the latter is committed to the general policy of 
selling to wholesalers. 

The third channel is through a third middleman, 

the manufacturer's agent, broker, importer, or exporter, 

as the case may be. He buys from the 

Middleman manufacturer and sells to the wholesaler, 

liroiw' wno se ^ s to tne ret ailer, and the retailer 

Importer, sells to the consumer. 

xporer ^^ functions of the importer and ex- 
porter are fundamental. They get goods from for- 
eign countries and ship domestic products to markets 
where they can be sold. Only the largest and most 
complete wholesale or retail establishments are able, 
in their own organization, to take care of the particu- 
lar service of the specialist importer and exporter. 



ADVERTISING AND SELLING 135 

He sells to the wholesaler. He is seldom equipped 
for going direct to the retailer or the consumer. His 
margin of profit is small; volume is vital to his exist- 
ence. Small sales do not interest him. 

"Merchandise broker," and "manufacturer's 

agent," are practically synonymous terms. The 

merchandise broker differs from the im- 

Agent porter or exporter mainly in that his work 
Practically j s intra-national instead of inter-national. 

the bame . , 

He is the manufacturer s exclusive repre- 
sentative for a certain field. In this field he repre- 
sents from two or three to fifty different non-con- 
flicting producers. His margin of profit is smaller 
than that accorded the wholesaler; he is after volume. 
He makes it possible for the manufacturer to approxi- 
mate a unit system of distribution. 

The manufacturer's broker carries on most of the 
negotiations with wholesalers. All difficulties are 
referred to him for adjustment. He may have much 
to do with framing the general policy for his territory. 
He is (save the representative on salary from head- 
quarters) the manufacturer's most direct representa- 
tive. 

The broker seldom goes straight to the retailer. 
His commission will not permit it. He must go to 
Th B k ^ e wn °l esa l er > where each order means big 
Sells the business. If he does any work at all on re- 
tailers, it is for the purpose of influencing 
demand upon the wholesaler. Progressive firms, 
who employ a broker and want to get the maximum 



136 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

volume of sales, allow him to engage specialty men; 
or they send specialty men to work under his direc- 
tion. These men call on retailers and stimulate 
demand upon the wholesalers by whatever arguments 
of merit, advertising, profit, or special cooperation 
seem best. 

House-to-house canvassing of consumers, sam- 
pling, and store demonstration are means by which 
the manufacturer cooperates with the broker. The 
size of the manufacturer's organization, the amount 
of capital he has, and the universality of the appeal 
of his product must determine whether or not he will 
use brokers and the amount of cooperation he shall 
give them. 

The fourth route is from the manufacturer to the 
consumer, with no intermediaries save the manu- 
s j,. f facturer's own representatives on salary or 
Consumer commission. This classification includes 
(1) the mail-order house, (la) the manu- 
facturer selling by mail, and (£) the manufacturer 
who operates retail stores or sells direct through 
agents or salesmen. 

Mail-order businesses are of two sorts. The pri- 
mary purpose of one is to sell goods of its own manufac- 
ture, the business of the other is to sell goods by mail. 

In the first class is the manufacturer who special- 
izes upon a few articles; in the second, the firm that 
maintains extensive manufacturing establishments, 
and also buys from other manufacturers materials to 
complete its own extensive lines. 



ADVERTISING AND SELLING 137 

In Chapter XXII I have covered the mail-order 
method of selling in greater detail. 

Some manufacturers sell the consumer direct 
through their own representatives who are paid 
either a salary or commission. 

The automobile maker who maintains agencies 
or branches in different cities for the purpose of sell- 
ing direct to the user is an example. But if he allows 
his cars to be sold by an independent local sales com- 
pany, he must be accounted as using the second trade 
channel — manufacturer to retailer. 

The sale of advertised specialties has developed a 
type of manufacturer's representative not at all 
like the ordinary merchandise broker, who goes to 
the wholesaler with a sample, quotes him a price, 
and wires his principal the wholesaler's offer. The 
manufacturer's representative selling advertised spe- 
cialties must be a creative salesman in every sense 
of the word. He must understand how to conserve 
the value of the trademark. He truly represents the 
manufacturer in serving the customer and does not 
compete on a price basis. 

Small specialties are often established by solicitors 

sent out from the manufacturer's office. Firms 

Introducing having only a small capital, and unable at 

Goods to the outset to advertise and sell in a big 

by way, often use solicitors, for a time only, 

Solicitors as a means f making the goods known 

and as a preliminary to selling through retailers. 
Specialties which are limited in appeal cannot be 



138 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

sold successfully by any other means. If the mar- 
gin on them is small, the solicitor handles them as one 
of a number of articles which he is prepared to present 
to the consumer. 

The manufacturer who operates retail stores is also 

a direct-to-the-consumer seller. In his advertising 

TheManu- ne °ft en l avs particular stress upon the 

f°f tu ™ r statement that he has eliminated the 

erates Retail middleman's profit and can, therefore, 

Stores ma k e the consumer a better price. 

It may be he can, but I doubt it. He has taken 
upon his own shoulders the burden of maintain- 
ing a more complex organization and of handling 
many men on the road. In other words, he cannot 
eliminate selling expenses by going direct to the con- 
sumer. He may minimize it by perfection of sales 
equipment and the institution of economics in the 
supervision and conduct of his business. 

Unless he is a wonderful organizer and a handler 
of men, he may find at the end of the year that his 
net profits are less, and that the public has fared 
no better. That does not mean to say that direct- 
to-consumer selling is not economical. It certainly 
must be backed by the highest type of business 
ability if the manufacturer is to make a success 
of it. 

Chain stores are not always examples of manu- 
facturer-to-consumer selling; they are simply or- 
ganized retailing. 

In the fifth channel, the mail-order house, instead of 



ADVERTISING AND SELLING 139 

going direct to the manufacturer, buys from his sales 
agent. This means the mail-order departments 
The of large businesses whose chief concern 
Mail-order may be either wholesaling or retailing, 
but which maintain mail-order sections. 
It also covers the buying of goods by a mail- 
order house from an importer or exporter or a mer- 
chandise broker instead of from the manufacturer 
direct. 

The conditions which control the production of 
an article, the amount of capital to be used for pro- 
motion purposes, the utility and value of the article 
itself, the distance which separates it from its mar- 
ket — all these things must be considered in choosing 
a selling method. 

Almost all selling systems call for a middleman. 
Importer, broker, wholesaler, or retailer, whichever 
he may be, he is a helpful factor in distribu- 
Middleman tion and has justified his existence. To 
inAlmost mar ket merchandise costs a certain amount 
All Selling of money, varying in accordance with the 
character of the merchandise and the ability 
and the amount of work that the selling organization 
will put into a campaign. A manufacturer who de- 
cides not to employ middlemen does so because he 
has developed — or is convinced that he can de- 
velop — within his own organization the distributing 
ability which is the primary function of the middle- 
man. Whether or not he can save money is a matter 
which he must determine for himself by trial. 



140 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The manufacturer must be a creative salesman, 
or surround himself with men who are, or his busi- 
ness will come to nothing. The middleman must 
be a producer — serving the consumer — or be elimi- 
nated. 

Nothing that I have said in this chapter should be 
construed as endorsing the idea that the five routes 
I have outlined are the only correct ones for mer- 
chandise to follow. In many instances I believe 
radical changes in distribution should be made. 
There are manufacturers who sell to the jobber, 
through a sales agent; the jobber then sells 
dleman's to the retailer; the retailer sells to the 
Should Be consumer - There are many articles han- 

Charly died in this way which could be shipped in 
the original package, direct from the 
manufacturer to the consumer. Even if the sale 
were handled through two or three middlemen, 
still each party to the transaction would benefit 
materially by the change, especially the consumer. 

The route of distribution should be governed by 
the character of the merchandise. The middleman 
should know definitely what his functions are, and 
should not attempt to handle any work that could 
be done elsewhere more economically and with 
greater satisfaction to the consumer. 

There are too many middlemen in a number of 
fines. There are lines in which one or two bold 
spirits could, by making use of modern merchandising 
and advertising methods, increase the scope of their 



ADVERTISING AND SELLING 141 

business, get an enormous volume, reduce the cost 
to the consumer, and give themselves financial re- 
turns many times in excess of any sum they can 
ever make by trying to maintain a fictitious value 
for the service they render. 

There is need for radical readjustment all along 

the line. The particular point I have endeavored 

to drive home in this chapter is that even 

sumer is though the manufacturer goes to the con- 

th6 Test al sumer kv means of all the established 

routes of distribution, his responsibility 

to the consumer for the quality of his wares is not 

lessened. 

I realize that many distributors will oppose any 
change, just as the hand compositor fought the in- 
troduction of the linotype machine. Yet linotype 
operators make from two to three times as much as 
they did, under the very best conditions, as hand 
compositors. Many distributors have been blindly 
following established custom; they have not analyzed 
conditions or causes, nor have they realized that 
there are better ways of doing business. 

All along the line the distributive system is loaded 
with heavy labor costs — usually the lowest-priced 
labor is the most expensive. 

Advertising can reduce the cost of every phase of 
distribution, at the same time increasing the com- 
pensation of the personal labor required for the 
maintenance of the various distributive chan- 
nels. 



142 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

One prominent retailer, who is generally reported 

to figure his cost of handling merchandise at 30 per 

cent, on the gross price, told me that more 

Confers^ than half his expense is labor, including 

r 0M S clerk hire, management, delivery men, 

t>67l6jlt m t xx* i • • 

janitors, etc. His advertising cost was 
less than one per cent, on his total business. I told 
him it did not seem good business, to me, to tax 
the consumer with 15 per cent, for labor and only one 
per cent, for informative advertising which would 
reduce the cost of salesmanship, if his clerks are 
trained to cooperate with the selling campaign. 

This same condition exists in the jobbing busi- 
ness. Men unpack, handle, and repack goods which, 
if standardized and if the consumer were educated 
to want it in exactly the form in which it leaves the 
manufacturer, could be shipped direct from the 
manufacturer to the consumer, who would select, 
at the retailer's, from well-displayed samples. 

There is much opportunity for improvement, and 
I predict that the next ten years will witness changes 
that might be characterized as revolutionary. But I 
believe that the established channels of trade will 
remain fundamentally as they are now. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XIII 

There are trade papers which deal with the prob- 
lems outlined in this chapter, many of them. Some 
are of unquestioned leadership, with offices in all im- 
portant trade centres. 



ADVERTISING AND SELLING 143 

Particularly noteworthy are the Dry Goods Econ- 
omist and Iron Age (both published in New York), 
which are edited by men of great power and national 
influence. 

There are five (monthly) publications for under- 
takers and eight for miners. The grocer, the general 
merchant, and the allied trades are served by sixty- 
eight publications. And so on down the list, from 
automobiles to watchmaking. Each one of these 
trades has its own literature, to say nothing of house 
organs and catalogues which display the highest type 
of advertising skill. 



CHAPTER XIV 

HOW THE MIDDLEMAN SERVES THE CONSUMER 

THE retailer does 95 per cent, of the business 
of supplying the wants of the American 
family. I doubt whether this percentage 
ever will be much altered. The mail-order business 
will increase and so will the jobber's and retailer's, 
just as rapidly as elimination of the present waste 
in our distributive system is changed into increased 
comfort and luxury for the consumer. 

Many people will always find it easier and more 
satisfactory to order goods by mail after they have 
read a catalogue; others want to see and examine 
merchandise before they buy. The question, "What 
kind of service does the consumer like best?" has as 
many answers as there are different kinds of people. 

The mail-order business proves that people scat- 
tered over a wide area may be organized and held 
together by group consciousness. 

Once in the backwoods of Kentucky I met a man 
who isolated himself. He refused to buy anything 
from the local stores. His greatest satisfaction 
seemed to be his ability to read and supply his wants 
by means of the catalogue of a Chicago mail-order 

144 



HOW MIDDLEMAN SERVES CONSUMER 145 

firm. He evidently felt a personal superiority and 
distinction — sometimes encountered among "our very 
best people" — in being able to do something which his 
less fortunate neighbors could not do, i. e., read. 

Many manufacturers have been considering the 

middleman their customer, because he buys their 

goods. Goods in the market may be a 

Middleman menace to the man who has made them. 

Is Not a They are never sold until they are in the 

hands of the consumer, the final buyer, the 

man who does not want or intend to sell them again. 

Many distributors are recognizing the new order of 
things, and are limiting their activity to banking and 
purely distributive functions. They are not attempt- 
ing specialty salesmanship, because they can get expert 
assistance of this kind from the manufacturer's sales- 
men. And they make more money than they could 
by having a larger margin of profit and taking the re- 
sponsibility of educating the trade by specialty work. 

Any distributive system which does not bear the 

test of constantly giving the consumer the best ser- 

rrt t li. vice must fail. And the middleman who 

The Jobber 

and Adver- opposes the handling of advertised goods 

Used Goods r i .i • i , i i • 

because ne thinks the consumer, knowing 
the producer, may go direct to him and thus dispense 
with the middleman's services, is making a wrong 
deduction. The consumer is best served when each 
factor of production and distribution is concentrated 
upon the one activity for which it is particularly well 
equipped. 



146 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

No manufacturer should have the preference of the 

consumer or the retailer unless his merchandise merits 

it. If the maker of a food product which 

Private is intelligently merchandised and nation- 

J Brands a ^ r advertised is able to get only from 
Are % to 5 per cent, of the total business 

us for it, there is no reason why the jobber 

should not put in his own private brand — if the con- 
sumer and the dealer would have confidence in his 
guarantee of quality and his backing of the prod- 
uct. 

In a number of instances the demand for a certain 
article is a highly developed want which has been 
created solely by the constructive genius, organizing 
ability, unwavering purpose, and unceasing devotion 
of its manufacturer. Any attempt to share in this 
business is little short of a willingness to accept 
something without rendering an equivalent for it. 
It is not only unethical and unmoral; it is the worst 
kind of bad business, and cannot be encouraged or 
countenanced by honest men. 

In some cases the manufacturer, the jobber, and 

the retailer put their names on the merchandise, 

and tell the consumer exactly what each 

Distributing nas done and stands willing to do toward 

Factor gaining and meriting his or her confidence. 

Should — " -it • it 

Educate In the grocery trade there is much dis- 
L„°T cussion of the comparative value of manu- 

ou ill &T x 

facturers' and jobbers' brands. There are 
forces at work in the distribution of groceries that 



HOW MIDDLEMAN SERVES CONSUMER 147 

seem as relentless and as irreconcilable as those now 
engaged in warfare in Europe. 

A specialty manufacturer sends his salesman to call 

on the retail grocery trade. He takes orders to be 

shipped through the jobber. And then 

Under- he finds out that the jobbers' salesmen 

st mu g have killed a number of them - 

Eliminate Many jobbers control the retailer's 

Ta/ rt off? 

trade by granting him credit. Then they 
can insist that he handle their brands, not the manu- 
facturer's. 

Where the consumer is indifferent the conflict is 
most active. I am convinced that this wasteful 
antagonism is unnecessary. It can be largely 
eliminated by a more perfect understanding of what 
business really is, and a willingness on the part of 
everybody concerned to give the other man the con- 
sideration and courtesy to which his service en- 
titles him. 

The best interests of the consumer are the best 
interests of the retailer. But the consumer does 
not always understand what is best for 
and him. This is the dealer's opportunity for 
C °Ha™ eT service. If the retailer personally or his 
identical salesmen, who should be governed by ser- 
vice ideals which he has laid down for 
them, can persuade his customers to accept some- 
thing which is better for their wants than the par- 
ticular things for which they ask, he is giving them 
true service by doing so. 



148 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The retailer who does this will not be misled by an 
overzealous salesman who talks large profits on 
unknown articles against a fair margin on well-ad- 
vertised articles which move rapidly and give the 
dealer more profit because of volume. This type of 
dealer will soon win the confidence of his customers 
so completely that they will not expect him to meet 
cut prices on standard articles. They will prefer 
to trade at a store where scientific methods of distri- 
bution are appreciated and used. 

I am sure that most of the difficulties which are 
now worrying the dealer, the jobber, and the manu- 
facturer (to the detriment of the consumer) will 
disappear as soon as the functions, the rights, and the 
responsibilities of each are more fully comprehended. 

You may have heard some one say that "the manu- 
facturer ought to advertise, in order to force the 
jobber and dealer to handle his goods." 

Should 19 B advertising is strong enough to force the 

Never jobber or the dealer to do something which 
he does not want to do the man who invokes 
and uses this power for such a purpose is making a 
wasteful use of it. 

He would much better be employed in convincing 
the jobber and retailer that their interests are con- 
served in the possibilities of cooperation and absolute 
assurance of increased sales, because more intense de- 
velopment of the consumer's wants and a more direct 
supplying of them would increase the volume of busi- 
ness. 



HOW MIDDLEMAN SERVES CONSUMER 149 

The generally accepted definition of the word 

"gentleman" is "strength tempered with courtesy, 

justice, and a square deal." No jobber 

ShmdTBe or retailer should be forced to do anything 

Merchan- w ]u cn ^ oes no t further his best interests. 

dised 

A merchandising plan which contemplates 
ruthless disregard of the wishes of a distributor lacks 
much. The middleman should be "sold" on the 
advantages to him of cooperating with the plan of 
distribution. 

The best manufacturers, those who distribute 
through national merchandising and advertising, are 
considerate of the middleman. Before they under- 
take a campaign — which represents an enormous 
investment of capital, time, thought, and energy — 
they have data gathered which enables them to deter- 
mine what complete service to the consumer is worth, 
and what the middleman's share of this service is 
worth. Then these manufacturers " sell " the middle- 
man on cooperating with them, because it will 
serve his own interests and at the same time give the 
consumer satisfaction, which is the best possible in- 
trenchment of his business. 

The jobber and retailer who help the producer 
get the increased volume of business which is bound 
to result from the use of a correct merchandising 
plan will make more money on their capital and 
energy and will do best by the consumer. This 
type of middleman is intrenching himself for the 
future and will not be eliminated; instead he will 



150 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

become a more and more important factor in dis- 
tribution. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XTV 

In "The Economics of Retailing," published by 
the Ronald Press Company, New York City, 1915, 
Paul H. Nystrom has covered the whole range of 
retail distribution in a most interesting and readable 
manner. 

"The Wages of Salespeople," "Location and Rent," 
"How Retail Prices Are Fixed," "The Mail Order 
House," "Are There too Many Retail Stores?" are 
titles of exceedingly interesting chapters. 

He makes an argument for publicity in its broadest 
sense when he says : 

"Sooner or later the growing unrest of the public 
concerning the rising costs of living will be focussed 
on the costs of distribution. Public investigations 
will be made and legislation proposed. Much of any 
ill-will that might be present in that scrutiny, when 
it comes, can be averted by retailers if they will but 
take the public into their confidence. Price is the 
tender spot in nearly all economic discussions where 
public interest is concerned. It is highly essential 
that all retailers, who are doing a legitimate business 
upon a reasonable profit basis, cooperate in letting 
the public know what are their price-making proc- 
esses and problems." 



CHAPTER XV 

RETAIL ADVERTISING — PREPARATION 

IN CONSIDERING retail advertising, one must 
not forget that many dealers have gone into 
business without having made a comprehensive 
plan of campaign. Some have inherited a business. 
Others started in as clerks, and gradually worked 
up. 

In agricultural districts, retired farmers, who have 
moved into town so that their children may have 
city school advantages, often buy a grocery business 
or handle farm implements. 

Many of them fail because they lack expert 
knowledge of the business itself and especially because 
they did not know the characteristics of their con- 
suming group. 

Other things being equal, the retailer should pre- 
fer a location in a city whose industries are exten- 

,- „ si vely advertised. Manufacturers who use 

A Stable , ..'. , 

Labor advertising to create a permanent, steady 

Necessary to mar ket are least affected by industrial 

Successful changes. Employees are benefited by this 

a%mg policy, because they are not laid off in 

times of general depression. 

151 



152 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Having chosen a city or town in which to estab- 
lish himself (if it is possible for him to do this), 
the retailer's next move is to select the particu- 
lar street upon which it seems best to locate his 
store. 

Here again we see the value of the group spirit, 
which accounts for the fact that property at the 
corner of State and Madison streets, Chicago, is 
worth many times more rent per year than is 
the same number of square feet one mile from 
there. 

The fact that a large group of people has formed 

the habit of passing a particular corner, or along a 

particular block, every day, makes a loca- 

Location tion at that point worth more to the re- 

Withintke tailer than the same amount of space a 

Locality c 

short distance away. 
The retailer should next consider the character- 
istics of his group, as a whole, and also those of the 
many smaller groups of which the community is 
composed. He should study their tastes, their 
prejudices, and the influences that are maintaining 
or changing their mental attitude and their manner 
of living. He should select his clerks carefully, 
considering their fitness to sense and work in har- 
mony with the prejudices and preferences of the 
majority of his customers. Much might be said 
about fitting up his store so that his wares will be 
in plain sight and easy to get at. Allow plenty of 
space for showcases, counters, and shelves for the 



RETAIL ADVERTISING— PREPARATION 153 

display of desirable merchandise. Mute salesman- 
ship of this kind costs little and gets substantial 
results. 

The retail merchant should buy reliable, depend- 
able goods. It is wiser to concentrate his buying in 
a few sources of supply, in order to make 
Competent his business attractive to the best houses, 
Reprele™- anc ^ m tms wa y i nsur e getting the greatest 
ing Reliable amount of attention. Where the quality 
of the merchandise and the general policy 
of the houses from which the dealer can buy is the 
same, he should, in justice to himself, give prefer- 
ence to the salesman who studies his needs and is 
best equipped to counsel and confer with him about 
how to merchandise the goods he buys. Many 
dealers owe much of their success to counsel and 
advice given them by salesmen who believe that the 
business of selling is an opportunity for service, 
and who treat the dealer's confidence as a sacred 
trust. 

As soon as the dealer knows the purchasing capac- 
ity of his possible customers, he should gradually 
foster in them an appreciation of a little better 
standard than they have been asking for. In this 
way he can secure the leadership which is neces- 
sary if he is to build up a big business, and can 
get and hold the trade of people who like to feel 
that they appreciate quality and that goods have 
been brought to their attention because they know 
quality. 



154 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

It pays to stock advertised brands instead of un- 
advertised, when they are of equal merit. If he can 
buy the latter for less money, then he must 
tivTvdue determine how much the advertising on the 
of Adver- higher-priced line is worth to him. If he 
Unadver- can be sure that the advertised merchan- 
Products ^se will save him clerk hire, rent, and other 
expense, then the advertising justifies it- 
self. As a rule advertised lines are meritorious, and 
the cost of advertising is not an excess tax upon the 
consumer. In which case the dealer has no excuse 
for handling anything but advertised lines. 

Careful discrimination is necessary when the re- 
tailer takes over the exclusive sale of a line of goods. 
Many manufacturers market their goods 

^igenSes to one dealer on ly> m eacn town, because 
Should Be they know that having something which 
CorSdered one's immediate competitor does not pos- 
sess appeals to retailers generally. Some- 
times the retailer makes a mistake in listening to this 
argument. For there are articles, having a wide 
national distribution and sold to any dealer who will 
buy them, that unquestionably give the greatest sat- 
isfaction to the consumer because of the advertising 
which has been done both before and after the 
purchase. 

Retailers often try to substitute an article of which 
they have the exclusive local sale for one that has a 
broad national sale. It is a mistake to do this. The 
manufacturer who gets control of a market and 



RETAIL AD VERTISING— PREPARATION 155 

reduces the price, in order to entrench himself, 

unquestionably gives the greatest possible service 

Natio7ial to the final buyer. Every manufacturer 

Preside ^th a sound merchandising policy wants 

Local the retailer to handle goods at a satisfactory 

Standing profit j n ^ SQ faj ag j know? present 

agitation for the purpose of getting legislation in Con- 
gress which will permit manufacturers to insist that 
retailers maintain the manufacturer's retail selling- 
price has been instigated by the manufacturer. He 
wants the retailer to make money; he does not wish 
to reduce the retailer's profit. He knows that if he 
can get the largest possible volume of distribution, 
he can, because of economies possible in production, 
reduce prices and entrench himself against competi- 
tion. He knows that price-cutting on the part of 
the retailer reduces the total volume of sales, and 
that the retailer cannot give the consumer complete 
service unless he is sure of a steady and permanent 
demand. 

The retailer is wrong who apportions his expense 
of doing business among all the articles he sells. For 
instance, it costs him more in rent, labor, and over- 
head, to serve a glass of soda, at five cents a glass, 
than it does to hand out a package of chewing-gum, 
the demand for which has been created and developed 
by national advertising. 

He fools himself if he thinks that the washing of 
glasses, the labor of dispensing the soda, and the 
amount of time taken up by people who stand at 



156 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

the soda fountain is anything like the same degree 

of expense to him as the transaction involved in 

Well-ad- handing out the chewing-gum. In order 

vertised to prove it, he needs only to find out 

Lines Cost - . . , 

Less to how many cnewmg-gum sales a clerk 
Handle cou ld make, in a day, to people who came in 
about as fast and as regularly as the patrons of an 
elevated railroad go through the gates and drop a 
ticket. For five cents the elevated railroads give 
the consumer a good deal of transportation, and the 
labor of the people who sell him tickets and receive 
him at the gates. 

The retailer can profitably use every advertising 
medium that I have described in this book. Many 
of them he can afford to use directly. He can get 
the benefit of all of them, indirectly, by cooperating 
with the manufacturer's advertising of goods of 
which he has the exclusive sale for his own section; 
or by cooperating with national advertising cam- 
paigns on goods that are sold to any dealer who will 
buy them. By doing this he will get more than his 
share of the business which the manufacturer creates. 
He should do no local advertising until his store is in 
shape to back any promises he may make in his ad- 
vertising. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XV 

Mr. Harlow N. Higinbotham, formerly a partner 
in Marshall Field & Co., Chicago, and President of 
the Chicago World's Fair, has written a valuable 



RETAIL ADVERTISING— PREPARATION 157 

book, "The Making of a Merchant," published by 
Forbes & Company, Chicago. 

The science of advertising has developed a service 
phase since Mr. Higinbotham wrote "The Making of 
a Merchant." He recommends unadvertised lines 
as giving the dealer a larger profit; and now he would 
find that the manufacturer's advertising actually 
saves the dealer clerk hire and rent, and brings him 
business. 

Mr. Higinbotham recommends that retailers teach 
their clerks to be decisive in dealing with customers, 
and aptly says: "When the decision is put up to the 
customer, he invariably names the brand most widely 
advertised, because it is the first that comes to his 
mind." 



CHAPTER XVI 

RETAIL ADVERTISING METHODS AND MEDIUMS 



THE retailer's first purpose in advertising is 
to bring people into his store. 
For appealing to those who pass the store 
every day the best medium is a display window. 
Goods should be attractively arranged and show the 
price. Then the effect of the advertising in the win- 
dow can be accurately checked. 

The same clear-cut fundamentals govern the 

success of a department store and fruit stand. Each 

exists, primarily, because of a group. 

Make Each has been established in a locality to 

Retailing which common interests and needs draw 

Possible 

a group of people constantly. 
In polishing his apples, arranging the grapes and 
cherries in small packages, and putting in his spare 
time making up attractive assortments, the fruit- 
seller shows the same elemental appreciation of the 
advertising value of display which is revealed in the 
department store's handsome windows, neat shelves 
and counters, and carefully trained clerks who im- 
press all comers with the fact that "it is a pleasure 
to show goods." 

158 



METHODS AND MEDIUMS 159 

The price ticket on a basket of grapes is both an 
appeal to the bargain-hunting instinct of the su- 
burbanite and a confidence-compelling affirmation 
by the proprietor that the goods are worth the price 
asked, and that he is willing for any one to know 
it. 

This same fruit vender has found out that he can 
depend upon a certain class of discriminating trade, 
if he carries well-advertised goods in the original, 
unbroken package. Many a small store proprietor 
would do well to follow his example. 

A certain Chicago retailer moved his store not 
long ago. The new location costs him $15,000 a 

Show year more for the same amount of space 
Windows h e h a( j before. But now he has six show 

Silent windows. He had only two before. Nei- 
Salesmen ^er the class of people who pass the new 
store nor the numerical strength of the group 
seems to have changed much. But the four extra 
display windows more than justify the $15,000 
additional rent. These windows are changed con- 
stantly. 

The windows bring people into the store, where 
materials of especial interest for the moment must 
be attractively displayed, interesting them and 
stimulating desire to purchase. Such silent sales- 
manship, making use of the power of suggestion, 
often contributes more to a sale than does the clerk's 
selling talk. 

The newspaper is the best medium for reaching 



160 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

people who do not regularly pass the retailer's store. 
If he knows how to use local newspapers, and gets 
prompt responses, he is fortunate indeed. 

As I have said before, it isn't necessary to advertise 
bargains all the time. It is wise to remind the 
readers of the newspapers, every now and then, 
that he sells] dependable goods, and stands back of 
them. 

In only one respect has modern business improved 

upon the method of the late Mr. A. T. Stewart, 

who used to stand at the front door of 

Newspaper the store, greet his regular customers by 

Retail's name » an d occasionally slip into a package, 

Best for good measure, a tapeline, a spool of 
thread, or some other useful little article. 
The improvement is the change from a personal to 
an institutional basis, the result of emphasizing the 
fact that the business is being conducted according 
to such sound merchandising principles that the 
constant personal presence of the owner is not es- 
sential to perfect service. The one-price system 
and the custom of returning to the buyer the pur- 
chase price if goods are returned within a reason- 
able time have gained the confidence of the public. 
These thoughts should be emphasized again and again 
in the retailer's newspaper announcements. 

The retailer can use local newspapers advantage- 
ously in another way, described in the chapter con- 
cerning "National Advertising and Exclusive Deal- 
ers." 



METHODS AND MEDIUMS 161 

The retailer who has the exclusive sale of a na- 
tionally advertised specialty can double the value 
of his newspaper advertising by "tying it up" 
with the manufacturer's national magazine advertis- 
ing. 

There are advertising mediums which the retailer 
should absolutely refuse to use. I refer particularly 

Treat *° th° se °f a semi-benevolent or semi- 

Your charitable character. 
A'pyro^da- The retailer who feels he must contribute 
TmstVund some ^ n S to a ^ocslI church or lodge, or 
some other semi-benevolent enterprise that 
wants to sell him space in a program, can contrib- 
ute, instead, an equivalent value in merchandise 
which, for some good and sufficient reason, must 
be seen at his store. Very many clever ideas have 
been worked out along this line. As certain trade 
papers and specialty advertising organs keep a 
record of them, I shall not attempt to give further 
detail here. 

The store must be kept in such an attractive con- 
dition at all times that customers will be pleasantly 
impressed. 

His advertising appropriation should be from 2 
to 4 per cent, of his total sales. He ought to spend 
it as if it were money held in trust for another, 
which must be made to earn the maximum profit. 
Such a viewpoint would not permit him to be "sold" 
by various schemes, of doubtful value, that are being 
brought to his attention continually. 



162 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

There are men who go around the country per- 
suading retailers to advertise in local newspapers 
schemes that make the solicitors enormous profits. 
However, this practice is about at an end, because 
retailers and publishers know more, now, about real 
advertising and its value. 

The retailer should not buy calendars, novelties, 
or advertising devices of any kind until he knows 
exactly how he is going to distribute them. 

The best plan is to give them to people who will 
come into his store and get them. A small news- 
paper advertisement, a circular, or a letter would tell 
the reader about them. 

I have previously pointed out that local news- 
papers are especially effective for advertising the 
big department store. Fortunate indeed 
Work and * s the retailer in a town that has a pro- 
Work Your gressive local newspaper covering his trade 
territory fully. 

An entirely different problem confronts the 
neighborhood retailer, in a large city, and the 
suburban dealer who has no local newspapers 
whose circulation corresponds with his trade terri- 
tory. 

These suburban storekeepers, especially grocers 
and druggists, are just now discovering that by dis- 
playing wares which are being widely advertised 
in newspapers and magazines that circulate in their 
neighborhood they can actually cash in on the manu- 
facturer's advertising. 



METHODS AND MEDIUMS 163 

A number of newspaper publishers realize how 

important it is that retailers who cannot afford to 

How advertise be taught how to profit by the 

Suburban manufacturer's general advertising. 
Can™ Before he advertises a special line of 

Cashm g OOC l s every department store proprietor 
Newspaper teaches his clerks how to cooperate with 
nng the advertising when the customer comes 
in to see the goods. All retail stores can use manu- 
facturers' newspaper and general advertising, with- 
out cost, merely by cooperating with it. The re- 
tailer who knows what kinds of newspaper and 
magazine advertising pay, what the circulation of 
general mediums is, in his territory, can realize on 
manufacturers' advertising as completely as if he 
himself were paying for it. 

If he is in doubt as to the amount that is spent by 
the house that sells to him, he can get accurate in- 
formation by applying direct to the publisher, or to any 
large advertising organization that cooperates with 
national advertisers in preparing and placing copy. 

Some retailers, having been imposed upon by ad- 
vertising promises that were never fulfilled, assume 

Dealers tnat a ^ advertising is alike, and that one 

Should manufacturer's publicity is no more valu- 

and Can 

Discrimi- able than another s. JNo part ot the re- 
tailer's equipment is more important than 
an accurate knowledge of advertising mediums, both 
national and local. This will enable him to dis- 
criminate between manufacturers who use adver- 



164 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

tising to serve the" consumer and reduce the cost of 
distribution, and those who try to bluff him by mak- 
ing him think that they are advertising on a larger 
scale than is really the case. 

Better grade magazines, newspapers, and class 
publications are censoring carefully the advertising 
of the manufacturer who does business in a question- 
able way. Many publishers will not accept copy 
unless they know that the advertising is sincere, 
and straightforward, and planned to benefit both 
consumer and distributor. Just as any banker will 
express an opinion about any worthy investment, 
so any advertising house of standing will verify the 
claims of a reputable advertiser. Dealers certainly 
should not give their cooperation to manufacturers 
whose merchandise does not measure up to the claims 
made by their advertising, or to those whose busi- 
ness methods can be questioned. 

In closing let me repeat that at least once a year 

the dealer should map out for himself a definite, 

The tangible, complete campaign. He must 

Plan More know exactly the size of his appropriation 

Than the and should spend it as if it were money 

Medium S p en t [ n trust for another, with which he 

must buy the maximum profitable result. He can 

have all of the exhilaration of the chemist who makes 

discoveries in his laboratories, the satisfaction of the 

mathematician who solves problems, the zest of the 

hunter, and the calm sense of power of the man who 

makes plans and sees them materialize. 



METHODS AND MEDIUMS 165 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XVI 

Very many books have been written about retail 
advertising. Correspondence school courses are 
largely concerned with writing advertisements for 
retailers. Several houses which sell to one dealer 
only, in each locality, maintain a syndicate service 
which supplies the dealer with ready-made adver- 
tisements. 

In almost every city of 10,000 population or over 
there are one or more advertising agencies or adver- 
tising service bureaus which make a specialty of 
writing copy for retailers. Practically every paper 
covering retail trades has a department devoted to 
retail advertising. 

The live daily newspapers, in metropolitan and 
provincial cities, are the best primers for the man 
who wants to study the best, latest, and broadest 
aspects of retail advertising. 

George M. Reynolds, president of the Conti- 
nental and Commercial National Bank of Chicago, 
states that when a boy in a small Iowa town, he sub- 
scribed for the great newspapers of our large cities, 
in order to keep constantly in touch with the outside 
world. 

I. R. Parsons, Advertising Manager of Carson 
Pirie Scott & Co., of Chicago, in Printers' Ink, June 
24, 1914, says: 

"I know of stores that are purported to spend but 
one and one-half per cent, of their entire gross re- 



166 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

ceipts for advertising, their advertising charges in- 
cluding many items of more or less general expense, 
like window decorating and other general promotion 
costs, and each of the stores in question does a tre- 
mendous business. I know of several other stores 
whose yearly advertising cost amounts to 4 per cent, 
of their gross sales or thereabouts and they seem to 
get away with it. But I do not know of any retail 
store of any consequence which spends less than one 
and one-half per cent, for advertising, nor did I ever 
hear of any store lasting very long with an advertising 
burden of more than 4 per cent." 

Frank Farrington of Delhi, New York, author of 
"Making a Drug Store Pay" and a number of other 
very valuable books for retailers, and editor of Prof- 
itable Storekeeping (Chicago) says: "My observation 
is that 2 per cent., in the case of the average store, 
(which, by the way, is not a very large store) is a 
satisfactory figure." 



METHODS AND MEDIUMS 



167 



Mr. Parsons gives the following figures as being 
those of a hypothetical store "generated by a mer- 
chant in the good old Anglo-Saxon meaning of the 
term": 



YARD GOODS AND ACCESSORIES 


READY-TO-WEAR APPAREL FOR 


Denartment Advertising 
Department Percentage 

Silks and Velvets \\% 


WOMEN AND CHILDREN 

DeDar t m ent Advertising 
Department Percentage 


Dress Goods 2 % 


Women's and Misses' Suits 3 % 


Wash Goods lf% 


Women's Dresses 


4 % 


Laces and Embroideries 1 % 


Girls' Apparel 


3 % 


Ribbons 1 % 


Women's and Misses' 




Trimmings 1 % 


Coats 


3 % 


Notions and Dressmaker's 


Shoes 


3 % 


Supplies 1 % 


Waists 


3 % 




Separate Skirts 


3% 


DRESS ACCESSORIES 


Millinery (in season) 
Petticoats 


3% 
21% 


Veilings lf% 


Lingerie 


21% 


Handkerchiefs 1|% 


Negligees 


3 % 


Women's Neckwear 1 % 


Infants' Wear 


2£% 


Gloves \\% 


Corsets 


3 % 


Hosiery 2 % 


Furs (in season) 


3 % 


Knit Underwear (cotton) 2 % 






Knit Underwear (silk) 3 % 






Parasols and Umbrellas 2 % 


READY-TO- WEAR APPAREL 


Jewelry 3 % 


FOR MEN AND BOYS 


Hair Goods 4 % 


Men's Clothing 


5 % 


Leather Goods 3 % 


Boys' Clothing 


4 % 


Toilet Articles 2 % 


Men's Shoes 


3 % 




Men's Furnishings 


3% 


HOUSEHOLD LINES 


Men's Hats 


4% 


Furniture 5 % 


Total Average Advertising 


Linens 1|% 


Cost . . . 


•2f% 


Carpets and Rugs 3 % 






Blankets, Bedding, etc. 3 % 


Which figure, being reduced by 


Lace Curtains 3 % 


business done by departments not 


Art Needlework If % 


advertising, will undoubtedly come 


Silverware 3 % 


within the 2|% limit. 




China and Glassware 3 % 






Trunks and Bags 4 % 






Housefurnishings 4 % 






Books 3 % 







CHAPTER XVII 

RETAIL ADVERTISING — MAKING GOOD 

IkT AN exhibit of farm vehicles, once, I heard 
ZJk a barker, in replying to a couple of farmers 
A. _&. w h W ere chaffing him about his sales talk for 
the buggies he was demonstrating, point out clearly 
the institutionalism of banking and merchandising, 
and the labor-saving value of trustworthy methods of 
doing business. 

They told him he was the most interesting liar 
they had ever heard. He turned on them quickly 

_ ., and said: "You are honest farmers, but 

Retail . 

Dealers you have a peculiar way ot showing your 

Expected h° nes ty when you do business with each 

*> Be other. You trust your bankers with your 

money without question. You let your 

wife and children trade with your local merchants, 

and it never bothers you at all, because you know 

they will be given a square deal. But I notice that 

when one of you wants to buy a horse or a calf or 

anything else from another farmer, you don't delegate 

that business to anybody. You always do that 

work yourself. You are honest, certainly you are, 

and you show it in the way you trust each other." 

168 



MAKING GOOD 169 

The point of this story is the fact that the dealer 
is expected to be honest and trustworthy as a matter 
of course. It is certain that his influence, prestige, 
and permanent position in the field in which he does 
business are in direct relation to the size of the group 
which has confidence in him. 

In Chapters XIV and XV I have said that the 
retailer must know the relative value of advertising 
mediums, and how to use them for accomplishing 
specific results. But when this has been done, he 
has still a responsibility which, in my judgment, is 
worthy of a separate chapter — to make good on every 
advertisement he puts out. 

The retailer who gets the most out of advertising 

is one who thinks of it as a promissory note to the 

Maintain- P UDnc - He has invited the public to come 

ing to his store. He has put himself in the 

Confidence ... j? • i i_ j. • t • tp 

F increases position ot the host at a dinner-party. If 
the Dealer's there is a hurrying and scurrying about 
to lay extra places at the table after his 
guests arrive, they may feel they were not wanted, 
after all. 

It is of the utmost importance that the advertiser 
backs up his advertising with the same sincerity he 
expresses in his announcement. 

Clerks must be trained to appreciate that the word 
of the store has been given, and that any failure to 
make good, on their part, is a serious offence. 

A certain most successful manager of a big depart- 
ment store believes he cannot possibly cash in on his 



170 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

advertising unless he maintains to an extreme degree 
the confidence of every one who comes into his store. 
He told me, one day, when I was calling on him, that 
the man who had just left his office was the manager 

of his shoe department. Mr. showed me, 

with evident satisfaction, the report which this 
manager had just left with him. He explained that 
three months before he called in this department 
manager and told him that the percentage of re- 
turned shoes was too small. The subordinate men- 
t ,- ,l tioned that he had expected commenda- 

I HIM till (1 TiLP 

Return of tion instead of criticism for this, and in- 

dise 71 " sisted that wherever there had been the 

Increased least reason he had permitted shoes to be 

returned and the money refunded or other 

shoes sent out in place of them. 

"You certainly don't want to let a girl come in 
here and get a pair of fine dancing shoes, dance in 
them half the night, and come in the next morning 
and exchange them for everyday shoes, do you?" 
the department manager protested. 

" That is exactly what I do want. That girl has a 
father and a mother who undoubtedly do not ap- 
prove of all that she does, but they will feel kindlier 
toward us when they find that we are indulgent with 
her. Try it three months and see." 

The report showed an increased volume of sales 
in the shoe department, and the manager of the store 
believed that it was due to the increased liberality 
in the matter of returns. 



MAKING GOOD 171 

On another occasion I went with the salesman of a 
large paint house to call on a prominent store. The 

« xaki-ng keen eye of the salesman picked out a small 

r Ba ° k " h can of paint lying on the floor, and he asked 

Dealer Did the manager if he handled that particular 

Not Sell Dran( j # The manager laughed and said: 
"No, but a woman came in this morning, said she 
had bought this can from us, and didn't want to use 
it. Of course we took it back without argument." 

This is an extreme case. The manager did not 
question the customer's statement that she had bought 
an article he had never had in the store, and then 
gave her the amount of money she claimed she 
had paid for it. It illustrates, however, the fact 
that the customer's mental bias in favor of the store 
is of the utmost importance and cannot be trifled 
with without harming the group spirit which is, 
after all, the store's most valuable asset. 

Service to the customer should be the reason for, 
the expression, and the follow-up of every advertise- 
ment. 
of "service Attractive window, counter, and floor 
displays which remind and inform passers- 
by are true service factors. They economize the 
time of both consumer and dealer. 

Courteous, prompt, and intelligent attention by 
salesmen who know their stock and have constantly 
in mind the satisfaction of the customer is the only 
good-will asset which will bring trade from a long 
distance and hold it in spite of price competition. 



172 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Retailers who sell service have no mail-order com- 
petition, and they take pains not to advertise the 
mail-order business by discussing it. 

When we can be sure of price maintenance on 

nationally advertised goods, we shall have reliable 

merchandise at lower prices than ever be- 

cutting f° re > because of economy in wholesale pro. 

Benefits d uc tion and unimpeded movement to the 

Nobody . , . . 

consumer, with minimum salesmanship 
cost to all distributors. The retailer who advertises 
bargains is not giving his customer a square deal if 
he sells an advertised product of merit at a price 
which does not cover his legitimate distribution cost. 
He is not giving the consumer, who is his customer, 
the service or the protection to which he or she is 
entitled if he cuts prices on advertised goods for the 
purpose of more than offsetting this loss by the in- 
creased sale of other goods on which his margin of 
profit is abnormally high. 

I realize that some persons may take exception to 
my statement that the retailer should maintain in all 
cases the price which the manufacturer puts on the 
goods to be sold to the consumer. Let me make my- 
self perfectly clear. There are, especially in the drug 
field, lines of goods which give the retailer an abnor- 
mally high profit. Knowing that all business should 
benefit the consumer, we must not exploit him by 
asking him to pay more than the service is actually 
worth. Many cut-rate drug prices are legitimate, 
but they are giving the consumer a wrong impres- 



MAKING GOOD 173 

sion. The fact of the matter is the retail margin 
scheduled by the manufacturer is sometimes too 
high in the first place, and he did not expect it to be 
maintained. 

It is certain that on nationally advertised goods of 

genuine merit, the distribution cost of which has 

been scientifically fixed, the retailer will do 

Dealer Des ^ to cooperate. He is not being square 

Every with his customers if he creates the impres- 
the Dealer's sion that he sells all goods on the narrow 

^ e s f et margin which cut prices on advertised 
goods of real merit allow him. On the 
other hand, he cannot command the manufacturer's 
cooperation and support in developing a larger 
volume of business if he interferes with the manu- 
facturer's scientifically developed plans for benefiting 
the consumer. 

This brings up a question that might as well be 
discussed here as elsewhere — is it certain that the 
consumer always receives full value, even though the 
work of distribution has been ably and conscientiously 
done? 

For instance, many people believe that the sale 
of liquors, tobacco, and luxuries in general is econom- 
ically wrong, and a burden upon the public. Others 
think that the selling of patent medicines is detri- 
mental to the interest of the people. Others main- 
tain that an investment should not be advertised at 
all, but that all advertising in connection with in- 
vestments should deal only with the integrity and the 



174 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

ability of the banking or investment institution that 
sells the securities. 

We must recognize that intrinsic value, real value, 
and commercial value are three different things. 

I would define intrinsic value as the sum of those 

qualities in an article which scientific expert buyers 

would determine by test to be valuable. 

Difference Alcohol used in the arts might be intrinsi- 

Between cally more valuable in one brand than in 
Real, and another. Yet many persons would hold 
C °vZt al that alcohol has no real value. The real 
value of any given article would be the sum 
total of its qualities which actually benefit mankind. 
Pure water possesses real value. There might be 
some discussion as to the distinction between the 
intrinsic and the real value of pure water. These 
differences of opinion would be governed by differ- 
ences in the uses to which it is put. 

Commercial value is that quality in an article 
which creates satisfaction. Satisfaction is the test 
of every purchase. When the consumer is satisfied 
with his purchase we may safely say that the article 
he bought possesses commercial value. That is 
the basis on which we must discuss the question of 
value in relation to advertising. 

The point has been made that the department 
store's attractive advertising has raised the standard 
of living to a point where people believe they cannot 
do without many articles which really are luxuries, 
not necessities. But they justify the purchase of 



MAKING GOOD 175 

them, to themselves, by allowing themselves to be- 
lieve they are necessities. Some economists main- 
tain that the work most valuable to the community 
has been rendered by those who endure privation, 
rather than by those who are surrounded with lux- 
uries the enjoyment of which calls for a 
Service heavy expenditure of both time and money. 
Become k>o j jti ave never been able to see how adver- 

Costly? 

tising could be responsible for creating a 
condition that would be injurious to the consumer 
in any degree. Perhaps I should qualify that by 
saying that truthful advertising could not injure the 
public in any possible way. 

Fortunately the movement for truthful adver- 
tising has been inaugurated and pushed by ad- 
vertising men themselves, because they realized 
that absolute and constant dependability would 
demonstrate and develop the greatest value of adver- 
tising. 

Leaders of the advertising business have asked 
that the law recognize the benefit of truthful adver- 
tising by disciplining advertisers who do not pro- 
mote the best interests of the consumer. 

I am convinced that our great captains of industry 
get little more, in exchange for their arduous efforts, 
than shelter, clothing, and a modest amount of food. 
These men work under self-imposed privations 
because they believe this method is definitely help- 
ful in accomplishing the important work they have 
undertaken. 



176 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Booker T. Washington is authority for the state- 
ment that until the desire to possess things that are 
The generally conceded to be luxuries is aroused 
Desire for m the negro, he cannot be stimulated to 
Stimulates scientific and fruitful methods of work. 
Industry j am sure ^^ t k e cultivation of domestic- 
ity — beautifying the home and making it a more 
comfortable place to live in, the possession of works 
of art and care in preserving and keeping them — has 
a beneficial reflex upon the community. 

Personally, I am not afraid of the extension of 

the service idea on the part of our large department 

stores, although it is true that the cost of 

Competition concerts, lectures, rest rooms, and long- 

Invites range deliveries must be covered bv the 

Cooperation . ° it 

price the consumer pays for merchandise. 
The best protection against abuse of this method is 
the fact that big national advertisers are vieing with 
each in giving the consumer the greatest possible 
service for the amount of money he spends. 

At present this force is apparently working in 
competition with the big department stores. There 
are indications that some of the larger and better 
managed department stores are beginning to realize 
that it pays to cooperate with the national advertiser. 

If the department store refuses to stock large 
national advertisers' products, because they do not 
allow it sufficient margin to pay for all this service, 
these goods will be distributed by smaller stores 
which are located closer to the consumer. Such 



MAKING GOOD 177 

service competition will benefit every one that is en- 
gaged in it. 

Advertising can — and I predict will, during the 

next ten years — accomplish many reforms. It is 

going to convince the consumer that buy- 

Advertising « in* x 

Will Bring mg iroin peddlers is an unnecessary tax 
Needed U p on n j m anc [ that the time of the can- 

Reforms ^ 

vasser could better be spent upon labor 
which produces more for the community. 

It is going to prove that food products handled in a 
sanitary way will not only eliminate the waste due to 
sickness which is the result of unsanitary conditions, 
but that the possibility of merchandising in a broader 
way will enlarge the market. And the larger the mar- 
ket, the more the proceeds of a day's labor will buy. 

Advertising is the most potent force we have to- 
day for equalizing the ups and downs of labor condi- 
tions. It is seldom that a national institution which 
markets through advertising channels is obliged to 
lay off employees. As a rule the well -managed and 
competently advertised business is continually adding 
to its force of operatives, and its current of incoming 
business is steady and permanent. 

The man who advertises extensively and nation- 
ally ought to be, and actually has to be, a student 
of general conditions. He must know 
Conditions how to price his goods to the consumer so 

Insure as £ j- a k e care f fluctuation in the price 
of raw material. Stable commercial con- 
ditions of course mean money in the pocket of the 



178 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

worker — his consumer. For an unanswerable argu- 
ment for the value of stable conditions, contrast the 
continued prosperity of the six million American 
farmers of to-day with the state of agriculture when 
the castles along the Rhine and on the shores of the 
Mediterranean were inhabited by warriors who pro- 
tected the tillers of the soil from pirates, to be 
sure, but at a price — continual warfare — which gave 
the farmer very little chance to make use of his 
land. 

There is no force at work in America to-day which 
is doing more than advertising is toward the estab- 
lishing and maintenance of stable business condi- 
tions. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XVII 

Particularly recommended is "How to Run a 
Store at a Profit" (the System Publishing Company, 
Chicago), from which the following suggestions for 
the retailer have been culled: 

1. Fixed price articles carried as an accommoda- 
tion ought at least to take care of themselves. 

2. Newspaper advertising appropriation should 
be from 3 to 5 per cent. 

3. Carry the right amount of stock and no more. 

4. Watch your overhead expense. Overhead is 
frequently either figured or charged incorrectly. 

5. Know at all times what percentage of your 
profit is actually net. 

6. Have your goods so arranged and displayed that 



MAKING GOOD 179 

the minimum amount of time is necessary for laying 
them before the customer. 

7. Keep a record of the percentage of the selling- 
price lost by mark-downs. 

8. Look out for negative expenses. They are: 
poor displays, dingy stores, insufficient light, heat, 
or ventilation, ice on sidewalks, discourteous or in- 
attentive clerks, etc. 

9. In buying forget that you own the store and 
regard yourself as the purchasing agent for your 
community. 

I also call attention to the "Retail Merchant's 
Ten Commandments," which were published in the 
Monthly Bulletin of the National Association of 
Credit Men, 41 Park Row, New York City: 

1. Confine purchases to as few houses as possible. 

2. Do not overbuy. 

3. Take all discounts and pay all bills when due. 

4. Have some books, especially an accurate ex- 
pense account, a daily sales record, a book showing 
purchases, with cost and when due. 

5. Carry enough insurance. 

6. Make accurate reports to the commercial agen- 
cies and answer all letters. 

7. Keep a clean, well-arranged store. 

8. Do as much cash business as possible. 

9. Do not make unjust claims. 
10. Live within your means. 



CHAPTEE XVIII 

PRICE MAINTENANCE 

WE CAN best approach a consideration of 
price maintenance by reviewing the fol- 
lowing points : 

(1) The one-price system builds business for the 
retailer. It serves the buyer best, by saving time 
which he must otherwise spend in bargaining. It 
conserves the selling energy of salesmen who can 
then concentrate on demonstrating to the con- 
sumer the specific value of the goods offered for sale. 

(2) Mail-order business is possible only because 
prices can be fixed and vast editions of catalogues 
printed and extensively circulated. Consider the 
confusion, loss of time, and congestion which would 
be inevitable were any time devoted to writing letters 
to ask for prices or to haggle over charges ! 

(3) The exclusive dealer, or the agent of the manu- 
facturer, likes the one-price plan because it insures 
him a profit. In fact, the price argument is the basis of 
the abuse of the exclusive dealer idea. Many manu- 
facturers put in time selling the dealer which could be 
spent more profitably upon the consumer. Many re- 
tailers load up with exclusive lines; whereas a keener 

180 



PRICE MAINTENANCE 181 

appreciation of the value of service in the distribution of 
staples would have been more valuable to the con- 
sumer, and, therefore, more profitable to the dealer. 
Producing a staple and advertising and distrib- 
uting it through every possible channel are the big- 
The gest things a manufacturer can do. This 
Field of effort calls for more kinds of ability than 

Tremendous , , . . p . , 

Accomplish- any other kind of commercial enterprise. 
It is no task for the quitter, the faint- 
hearted, or the "piker." The results it gets are 
princely in scope and splendor. 

Given an article of merit and a fair price (which 
means a margin of profit to all who assist in getting 

Getting the maximum distribution for it), an ade- 
the"Jump" q Ua te national advertising campaign will so 
entrench one manufacturer's position that a competi- 
tor who makes equally worthy merchandise must 
spend many times as much for advertising in order 
even to divide the field with him. 

Price-cutting by retailers must be fought because 
the manufacturer who creates and controls the mar- 
ket for his own goods under a scientific plan of dis- 
tribution serves the consumer best. 

Retailers who make leaders of advertised goods 
by cutting the price will eventually substitute to the 
detriment of both manufacturer and consumer. 

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court of the United 
States has been ruling against the manufacturer who 
wants to put a fixed reselling price on his merchan- 
dise. Some lawyers believe that the fact that a man 



182 AD VERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

can control the use of his name and can prevent others 
from selling goods which purport to be his will even- 
tually find legal expression in a decision 
r jrreme Court that will give owners of trademarks the 
Fixed p 6 'c r ^ nt to determine the price the consumer 
shall pay for goods bearing that trade name. 
Present rulings proceed upon the assumption that the 
man who buys and pays for an article owns it ab- 
solutely and can give it away or sell it for any price 
he sees fit to place upon it. 

There are two ways of handling price-cutting on 
staple, trademarked products which all manufactur- 

Two Ways ers a gr ee are reasonable: 
of Main- (i) Moral suasion. I could cite many 
Price— Both instances where a salesman has induced a 
Effective dealer to give up price-cutting on his prod- 
uct. Each dealer promises to quit if the others will. 
Dealers are in business for the money there is in it. 
If price-cutting does not bring trade which buys 
other goods at a profit, the dealer soon throws out 
the article he has been cutting and substitutes a com- 
petitive article. The manufacturer who created and 
developed the market loses; and the consumer loses. 
(2) By refusing to sell to price-cutters. It is illegal 
Selecting to agree not to sell, but a manufacturer may 
j the refuse to sell to a distributor without giving 
Able to any reason. 

PHce- The advantages of price maintenance 

cutting are so universally conceded and the evils 

of price-cutting so generally condemned that sales- 



PRICE MAINTENANCE 183 

men should be selected with direct regard to their 
ability to put a stop to the latter in the territory 
which is assigned them. 

When dealers are fully conscious of the power of 
a trade-building advertising campaign to locate new 
buyers for advertised staples they will not be so prone 
to cut on them. 

A salesman who comes to the dealer with sugges- 
tions, plans, and methods for increasing his business 
by cooperating with the manufacturer's advertising 
plans (which means new business for both manufac- 
turer and dealer) can easily convince the dealer of 
the folly of diverting an established demand, for a 
little time, by price-cutting. 

For each buyer who knows the value of a piece of 
merchandise and would be tempted by a cut price 
there are twenty prospectives who have been almost 
convinced by the advertising, and need only (in 
order to close the sale at a profit to both dealer and 
manufacturer) the dealer's invitation to buy and his 
assurance of quality. 

Cutting the price to these prospectives may 

"queer" the sale altogether by suggesting inferior 

Cut Price ^u^ty. What little is gained by enlarging 

to One the market among those who are already 

Destroy convinced of the value of the article is more 
Confidence than offset by the loss of confidence among 

of Many . ^ . 

those not yet sold and the certain curtail- 
ment of distribution by dealers who will put under 
the counter goods that are sold at cut prices else-' 



184 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

where, and only supply them upon positive de- 
mand. 

Retail merchants' associations know what the 
effects of price-cutting are. Sometimes retail grocers 
have met department store price-cutting at the 
instigation of the secretary of their local organiza- 
tion, who keeps them informed of exactly what is 
being done. The department store has to make a 
profit, and will stop cutting when there is nothing to 
be gained by it. 

It is commonly believed that the grocery section 
of a department store is only a bait to get trade into 
the store. It is noteworthy, in this con- 
serve nection, that to reach the grocery section 
c vs - . one must usually pass through other de- 
partments where profitable goods are at- 
tractively displayed. Many successful retail grocers 
meet the situation squarely by selling customers on 
the value of their service, and by convincing them 
that a reasonable profit on dependable merchandise 
is just. 

Some years ago there was considerable talk about 
the manufacturer advertising to the consumer, there- 
by creating a consumer demand which would force 
the retailer to handle his goods. In many instances 
this policy has apparently worked. Wherever such 
is the case, there exists an opportunity for a com- 
peting product of equal merit to supplant the present 
leader, if the manufacturer will work out a scientific 
plan of advertising to the consumer, sell to the logical 



PRICE MAINTENANCE 185 

distributors, and give each link of the distributive 
chain a reasonable profit. 

For every dealer who can be coerced by advertising 

which creates a consumer demand there are twenty 

„ . who can be convinced that in the "almost 

Persuasion 

f>s. m persuaded" consumer there is a chance for 

Coercion » , i 1 t j. •• x j 

manufacturer and dealer to cooperate and 
build business for each other. 

The manufacturer's salesman can say truthfully 
that he is not interested in the sales the dealer is 
forced to make through advertising. His house is 
bound ultimately to get the business of the consumer 
who will seek the store that keeps advertised goods 
and refuses to trade at the store which does not. This 
salesman can say that he is not sent out to get the 
business that is the result of advertising demand, but 
to get new business by showing the dealer how to 
make sales which have been started and partially de- 
veloped by advertising. 

The dealer who understands the power of adver- 
tising will not be a price-cutter. He will be a con- 
servationist, not a pirate, and will push his busi- 
ness on service lines; for service brings him the 
good-will and fixed buying habits of satisfied cus- 
tomers. 

No advertising and selling campaign of national 
scope can be considered complete or apt perma- 
nently to entrench the product advertised as the 
leading staple of its class unless the price of the ar- 
ticle to the consumer has been fixed justly. 



186 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Merchandise of universal distribution should be 
priced low, for two reasons: 

(1) Because the patronage of the masses cannot 
be expected unless they get maximum value for their 
money. 

(2) While cost does not measure the value of goods 
to people who have money enough to gratify their 
desires, a low price does enlarge the market for any 
product by bringing it within the reach of the largest 
number of people. It also fortifies the manufacturer 
against future competition. Persistent advertising 
supplemented by shrewd, competent salesmanship 
will hold a market once preempted. 

Why? Because good advertising is the cheapest 
salesmanship; because the skillful adver- 
ts, tiser can pay the highest salaries for the 
p \] c . e ~ best salesmen, and still keep his total sell- 

cuthng . „ , . . 

mg cost under that of his competitors. 
Goods marketed through all channels of distribu- 
tion are advertised in the largest way to benefit 
the consumer, the advertiser, and every 

Advertising . . «,..,. 

—the intermediary in the plan ot distribution. 
S Ally 9 of Such merchandise becomes a staple with 
Price Main- the cost of moving diminished to the least 
figure. It actually pays best at a low price. 
It gets the widest market. It bears a sufficient mar- 
gin to pay all those whose services are needed to give 
adequate distribution. This is the ideal condition. 
The lower the price to the ultimate consumer, the 
less trouble the manufacturer will have with price- 



PRICE MAINTENANCE 187 

cutting, the wider will be his market, and the more 
likely he will be to establish himself permanently in 
it. He must remember, though, that the laborer is 
worthy of his hire, that stable conditions must be 
fostered, and that price maintenance is the mother 
and father of stability. 

It cannot be out of place to close this chapter with 
the statement that a manufacturer who trademarks 
an article of merit and plans a comprehensive 
merchandising and selling campaign, the objective 
point of which is the confidence and convenience of 
the consumer, creates a staple in every sense of the 
word. 

A well-advertised product towers above its com- 
petitors in the public mind, though it may be no more 
deserving. It has achieved distinction and acquired 
the consumer's preference. Its maker can count on 
a certain known demand. This insures better qual- 
ity for the consumer. All this because he and she, 
the consumers, put their trust in the manufacturer's 
trademark. Price maintenance is the manufacturer's 
duty to protect the business he has created. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XVIII 

"Price Maintenance," 1912 (the Commerce Pub- 
lishing Company, Philadelphia), by Thomas A. 
Fernley, is the most complete exposition of the idea 
that has reached me. It contains many specific ideas 
for trade betterment. But the author betrays a 
peculiar lack of appreciation of the power of adver- 



188 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

tising to do away with many of the evils for which he 
suggests other remedies. 

Much of the agitation in favor of the Stevens bill 
seems to be wasted energy. Prof. F. W. Taussig 
of Harvard University has ably pleaded for leaving 
conditions as they are, in his address before the 
Twenty-seventh Annual Meeting of the American 
Economic Association. Inquiries in regard to mem- 
bership should be made to Prof. A. A. Young, 
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 

Professor Taussig pertinently says : 

"It is easy to see how the work of retailing could 
be systematized, how the selling force could be kept 
constantly employed, how stocks could be kept to 
the minimum. As things now stand, we pay heavily 
for the privilege of freedom in the use of our time, 
for vacillation and choice, for the maintenance of 
a stock and a staff adequate for all tastes and all 
emergencies. It is common to speak of the waste of 
competition; much of it is in reality the waste neces- 
sarily involved in liberty." 

The particular point that Professor Taussig seems 
to overlook is that we should have a law which enables 
a manufacturer and retailer to agree on a resale price 
and make such contracts enforceable. 

Louis D. Brandeis has stated the position I hold in 
a manner that has not been successfully assailed in 
the following terse statements: 

" The law has been laggard in recognizing the social 
value of the one-priced article. Stability of price — 



PRICE MAINTENANCE 189 

the knowledge that one citizen may procure an article 
for the same price that is charged another citizen — is 
akin to stable currency. 

"No one has questioned the legal right of an inde- 
pendent producer to establish exclusive sales agencies. 
(It is in this manner that automobile manufacturers 
maintain their prices.) Then why should the maker 
of a trademarked article be prevented from estab- 
lishing a marketing system under which his several 
agencies for distribution will sell at the same price? 

"If a dealer is selling unknown goods or goods under 
his own name, he alone should set the price; but when 
he has to use somebodys else's name or brand in 
order to sell goods, then the owner of the name or 
brand has an interest which should be respected." 



CHAPTER XIX 

COOPERATION BETWEEN SALESMEN AND ADVERTIS- 
ING — SALESMAN, THE CLOSER — ADVERTISLNG 
THE MISSIONARY 

jL DVERTISING becomes a significant element of 

Zjk salesmanship when the salesman perceives its 
JL JL power to implant the buying impulse in the 
minds of prospective customers. Then he can devote 
to closing sales, the time and energy he had been put- 
ting into stimulating them. A worth-while sales- 
man's time is valuable, and should not be put to 
work that could be done by advertising. A salesman 
should be a closer, not a missionary. 

Advertising serves the salesman by placing the 

dealer in the most favorable mental attitude before 

Creating ^ ne sa l esman calls. The dealer soon dis- 

the Buying covers that advertising serves him, too, 

by continually developing in his customers 

the impulse to buy. 

It follows that advertising cannot be completely 
productive until it has the salesman's confident 
cooperation. 

The most successful salesman uses advertising 
in selling merchandise, just as the factory superin- 

190 



SALESMEN AND ADVERTISING 191 

tendent uses modern machinery in manufacturing 
it. 

It may seem strange, therefore, that it should ever 
be difficult to get a salesman to cooperate with the 
advertising of the institution which he represents. 

Team Salesmen really sell ideas. The sale 

Work takes place in the buyer's mind when he 
lets the salesman's idea supplant his own. 

Salesmen are human beings and must themselves 
be sold on new ideas to replace the old ones. So for 
the past ten years my work has largely been selling 
to salesmen who were already doing a good business 
the idea of cooperation with advertising. 

First, it is necessary to convince the salesman that 

by cooperating with the advertising he can so greatly 

increase his sales that his net personal in- 

Increased •n i 1 ui i » i 

Income come will be larger, although computed on 
for the a sma ller percentage of direct return to him 

Salesman . , . . , , 

on the individual sales. 
Advertising is justified only when it serves the con- 
sumer. Personal salesmanship can be permanent 
Service on ^ when it survives the same test. No 
fa tiw manufacturing institution or retail store 

Consumer , , , , , 

—the can advertise and pay its salesmen the same 

S Testof rate P er dollar °^ ac tual sales without in- 

Both creasing the burden to the consumer. If 

Advertising ,-, ■, . , , . . « n , . ■• 

and Sales- the salesman is putting m lull time and con- 

manship centrating on his work, it is comparatively 

easy to convince him that more competent tools 

mean larger aggregate sales. It is applying to him- 



192 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

self the same principles of frequent turnover which 
are the foundation on which the best retailing is 
built. 

The salesman who scorns the assistance of adver- 
tising, if he is to be consistent, should refuse to use 
The the mails, the telegraph, and the telephone. 
Salesman Because the cost of these three agencies, 
Medieval which multiply so many times the possible 
Mmd num ber of buyers within his territory, must 
be charged to the selling appropriation. 

There are 92,919 commercial travellers in the 

United States, and 611,139 retail salesmen. Most of 

Reducing these 704,058 men and women are dis- 

the Selling tributing merchandise to the consumer 

more economically than he could be served 

by any other means, There are also 317,811 agents 

and peddlers. It may safely be said that no agent 

or peddler delivers goods to the consumer at less 

than double the price he has paid for them. No 

advertised line that I know of, sold through local 

dealers, bears anything like such a selling cost. 

The commercial traveler and the retail 
the Modern salesman must decide whether they will be 
^tfluin Pliers anc * do practically all the work of 
selling, or whether they will be salesmen in 
the true sense of the word, cooperating with all those 
forces which mean volume of business and are most 
economical and serviceable to the consumer. 

I have often said that the first manufacturer of 
a competitive line who advertises can market his 



SALESMEN AND ADVERTISING JOS 

product by means of advertising and the best type 

of salesmanship, pay his salesmen better salaries 

AJ .. . than his competitors can afford to pay 

Advertising . -i i • i . . 

and Selling theirs, and keep his total appropriation 

More than ^ or advertising and salesmanship within 

Salesman- the figure which previously had been 

sufficient for personal salesmanship only. 

It is a question of "turnover." 

This statement has been proved to be true for 
many fines, notably ready-made clothing. The cloth- 
ing manufacturer did not advertise to the con- 
sumer at all twenty years ago. The best houses 
pay their salesmen 3 to 4 per cent, on their total 
sales. The advertising appropriation is generally less 
than this. It would not pay a salesman who handles 
a well-advertised line at 3 per cent, to exchange 
it for an unadvertised line at 10 per cent. With 
advertising, his volume of sales goes up immediately, 
and the conditions of work are more pleasant. 

Salesmen for a certain manufacturer who adver- 
tises nationally to the consumer but distributes 
Tne through the local dealer stop at the best 
Salesman hotels wherever they go, carry a packer 

rVorfcs on a , _ 1 

Bigger whose salary and expenses must come out 
Scale j? their sales, and arrange in advance for 
customers within a radius of eighty miles to call on 
them on specific days, allotting two hours a day to 
each customer. They get these customers together 
in the evening for a conference and general coopera- 
tive discussion of trade-building plans in which all 



194 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

are interested. Under the old regime, the salesmen 
had to pack and unpack their sample trunks, and 
could not cover nearly so large a territory. Result: 
their total sales were much less. 

A commercial traveller who understands thoroughly 
that his salary and expenses must come out of the 
goods he sells will take advantage of every force 
that will help him get the same result at less cost 
to the dealer and consequently to the consumer. He 
knows (at least he can know if he investigates) that in- 
telligent advertising does work that he must other- 
wise perform — and does it at less cost. A retail sales- 
man ought to be glad to push advertised lines, for by 
so doing he is rendering the consumer the largest 
amount of service, and making himself more nearly 
indispensable. 

There are a number of large mercantile establish- 
ments which must adopt another method of dealing 
Advertising w ^ n their salesmen, or— have no chance 
T °* at all twenty years from now. Unless 

I TlSZlTdTlCB 

Against they soon perceive that scientific adver- 
the Future ^jgrng saves money, young merchants who 
do are going to crowd them out. 

There are wholesale grocers who permit their sales- 
men to quote cut prices on staples, and then measure 
their value to the house by the amount of mer- 
chandise they have sold on which exorbitant profits 
have been made. This practice fosters a mer- 
chandising condition which is just about as bad as 
it could be. The retail grocer ought to respect 



SALESMEN AND ADVERTISING 195 

the wholesaler's salesman; this man can be an im- 
mense help to him in building a business. The 
grocer should be sold on cooperation. 
Wholesale He should be taught how to explain to 

Crilmte ^ S trao ^ e tnat n * s serv i ce is worth the 
with the difference between the cost and the retail 

Advertising . P1 . rrri i n» r» i 

of Branded price oi his wares. Inenandlmgoi adver- 
Staplesto tised staples by retailers fosters such a 

Set Higher . * * • 

standards relation; but the salesman or jobber who 
Retailer confuses the retailer and destroys his 
conception of values is a force that pulls 
in the opposite direction and is demoralizing. 

The commercial traveller who represents an adver- 
tised line and the retail salesman who talks to the 
Tu _ A consumer across the counter have a chance 

It Is the Til i i 

Salesman's to study the buyer at close range and to 
Educate^His adapt their merchandise to his desires and 

Trade to needs. Of the two the commercial traveller 
should have the broader outlook. He 
should be able to talk not only to the merchant but 
to his clerks, from their own standpoint, which is that 
of the man who purchases goods to sell again. He 
must also convince them from the standpoint of the 
consumer. 

In Chapter IV I have outlined the advantages to 
the individual of being a member of various groups. 
There is also this: that the leaders of the various 
groups to which you belong, by reason of the obliga- 
tions of their office, relieve you of various duties, and 
much planning and organizing. 



196 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Just here I want to point out that the man who co- 
operates is constantly educating within himself the 
highest type of individuality. We all know the man 
who, as a youngster, went into a large business house 
and did willingly and cheerfully everything he was 
asked to do; until it became a matter of habit to give 
him the first opportunity to handle whatever new re- 
sponsibilities arose as the business grew. This type 
of man rises to the head of an institution as inevita- 
bly as cream comes to the top of milk. His ability 
to assume and make good on the varied tasks en- 
trusted to him gives him a broad grasp of the business 
and develops individual competency and the sense of 
power which is the product of responsibility. 

The word "responsible" really means "ability to 
respond," which is about as true a definition of "co- 
Resvonsi- operation" as could be framed. The per- 
bility—Co- son who cultivates the ability to respond is 
constantly exercising those qualities which 
characterize the best type of manhood. I would 
qualify this statement only thus far — that such a 
man must test what he does by this one query: 
"Does the business I am engaged in and the work 
I am doing in connection with it give the con- 
sumer the best service which he or she can possibly 
obtain?" 

Advertising flourishes where cooperation is under- 
stood and practised. A baseball team will have 
better catchers, pitchers, basemen, and fielders if 
each member of the team unmistakably and enthusi- 



SALESMEN AND ADVERTISING 197 

astically desires each one of his fellow-players to 
perform brilliantly and to constantly excel. 

The reflex upon the man who practises cooperation 
makes him a better man; it enlarges his individual 
powers. It instils in the minds of his associates the 
idea of reciprocity, thus assuring him of their support 
You Are wnen ne needs it. Cooperation reduces 
Bound the cost of production. By elevating the 
Than You standard set for all — because that standard 
G M%^r > const antly embodies the best thought of 
How Muck each individual member of the organiza- 
tion — cooperation improves the quality of 
the joint product of all the members of that organiza- 
tion. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XIX 

The idea which underlies scientific management is 
intelligent and confident cooperation. Salesmen will 
enjoy Frederick Winslow Taylor's "Principles of 
Scientific Management," 1911 (Harper & Brothers, 
New York City). 

Harrington Emerson's books are authoritative 
and interesting. His "Thirteen Principles of Effi- 
ciency," are 

1 . Intelligent Use of Records. 

2. Planning. 

3. Scheduling. 

4. Dispatching. 

5. Standardized Conditions. 

6. Standardized Operations. 



198 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

7. Written Standardized Procedure. 

8. Ideals. 

9. Common Sense. 

10. Competent Counsel. 

11. Discipline. 

12. The Fair Deal. 

13. Efficiency Reward. 



CHAPTER XX 

ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES 

THE advertising business in its various phases 
offers opportunities for three distinct types 
of men. 
First, the personal salesman, who has the faculty 
of clearly grasping an idea and presenting it in a 
plausible and sincere manner. He is essentially 
social and sympathetic by nature and quick to see 
things from the standpoint of those he approaches. 

This type has been very highly developed and I 
question whether the advertising business will see much 
in the way of improvement for many years to come. 

Second, the imaginative, creative type of man who 

takes an idea in the rough and develops and refines 

Three it and at the same time gives to it the most 

Distinct c j ear distinctive, forcible, and pleasing 
Types ' . ±- & 

of Men forms of expression. 

The successful copy writer and illustra- 
tor must be men of this type, and while there are a 
number of such in the field to-day, it is my convic- 
tion that we shall see a higher degree of development 
during the next ten years, than is possible among men 
of the first type. 

199 



200 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The third type is the analytical, scientific, admini- 
strative man who comes into the advertising field 
most logically as an accountant. He should seek to 
find facts as they are. He should have, of course, 
sufficient imagination to know that the sentiments 
of prospective buyers are facts when selling plans are 
being considered. 

But primarily he should hold both the first and 
second type in line by continually impressing upon 
them the importance of coordinating their efforts 
with his figures and facts. 

There is more opportunity to-day in the adver- 
tising field for the third type of man than either the 
first or second. We have probably reached the top 
in advertising salesmanship; we cannot go much 
farther in developing writers and illustrators, but 
we can certainly use more men of the intellectual, 
scientific, engineering type. 

By this I do not mean to say he will command the 
large incomes that come to salesmen, writers, and 
artists unless he has both an analytical and synthetic 
mind and is capable of managing a large organiza- 
tion. 

He must have both executive and consecutive 
ability. He must do well every day the many little 
things that come to his desk that the salesman and 
the artist are prone to ignore. 

He must master detail and never be immersed 
by it. 

The word "opportunity" suggests a human being. 



ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITES 201 

Imagination is the key to opportunity. To man 
only is given the power first to project a mental pic- 
ture of a possibility and then to transform it into 
an actuality. 

Progress is thought that has found expression in 
physical labor. Work without thought will always 

Thought be mema l an d have to pay a heavy tribute 
Must Be to supervision. Thought which does not 

to Be find concrete form in creation makes man 

Valuable & me re dreamer. 

The line between success and failure is so thin 
that every man has to keep two thoughts constantly 
in mind. One is to know what he can do better 
than other people; the other is to know how to 
convince all who can profitably use the kind of ability 
he possesses that he can and will deliver his service 
without friction. He must know what he knows 
and know how to cooperate with every one with 
whom he comes in contact in rendering service. 

First, let me emphasize the fact that there is 
nothing mysterious or strange about the business 
activities which are covered by the word "advertis- 
ing. 

Young men who want to study advertising often 
come to me for advice. A little questioning makes it 

1 Advertising P lain tliat the y think advertising is a mar- 
La Serious ionette show sort of thing, operated in 
some strange fashion by wires and hands 
not seen, and speaking a lingo all its own, a magic 
formula for making money rapidly — something 



202 ADVERTISINGS-SELLING THE CONSUMER 

which can be acquired in much the same way that we 
learn the multiplication table. 

The big field for advertising lies in its application 
to ordinary, everyday business. The business of pro- 
ducing, marketing, and using advertising space does 
require various kinds of talent and experience. But 
the big opportunity in advertising lies outside what 
is commonly known as the advertising business — 
and will for the next ten years. The key to success 
for the young man whose sole capital is brains and 
energy is the application of the principles of adver- 
tising to ordinary, everyday business. 

There are several distinct types of advertising men. 

1. The publisher or plant owner is the man who 
produces advertising space. It happens that he is 
rarely the best judge of its value to the advertiser; 

The for he is primarily an organizer and execu- 
Pubhsher j-j ve »phe b es j- publisher is the man who 
knows best how to get and hold subscribers. The 
men who own street railway advertising and bill- 
posting privileges, painted bulletins and wall space, 
and electric signs, are concerned largely with leases 
and with the details of building and maintaining 
a plant. 

2. The advertising solicitor who represents the 
publisher and plant owner must possess marked sales 

The ability. The advertising solicitor of twenty 

Advertising years ago did not at all resemble the man 

who does this work to-day. Business men 

no longer need to be persuaded to advertise. Adver- 



ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES 203 

tising is not on trial now. Each advertising medium 
has won its own place in economical merchandising. 
Contract-getters are constantly being replaced by 
men who know the characteristics of the groups of 
people reached by the mediums they represent, and 
who can advise how best to use the space they sell. 
The ideal representative advises against the use of 
his medium when he knows that the advertiser's 
story is best suited to another. He seeks for cus- 
tomers those whose business can best be advanced 
by using his medium. He is after permanent busi- 
ness, and that predicates the possession of satisfied, 
loyal customer groups. 

3. The advertising writer's work is to find out the 
salient points of the merchandise he is expected to 

The sell, and its points of contact with the peo- 
Advertising pie whose confidence in the medium makes 
them accessible to him. The mere writing 
is simple, once the preliminary study has been com- 
pleted. The illustrator differs from the writer only 
that he uses pictures instead of words. Both of 
them know well that in the interpretation of the 
advertiser's message to the group which can most be 
benefited by it lies the highest expression of the art. 

4. The buyer of advertising space must be an 

analyst and a statistician. A goodly 

**" The a • i 

if Buyer of measure of experience and common sense 
Advertising added to this, and ability to read human 
nature, soon put him in the foreground 
of the advertising field. 



204 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

5. Printers, plate-makers, and typesetters advance 
Printers, beyond the limits of trade lines in direct 
makers! and ra tio to their ability to comprehend and in- 
Typesetters terpret the advertiser's message. 

Broadly speaking, one of the best openings for 

the young man who wants to take up advertising is 

Bi with the publisher. Each one of the 

Advertising 20,000 daily, weekly, monthly, and mis- 

Opportunity , r .. . i ' . 

with the cellaneous publications has a permanent 

Publisher pj ace f Qr ^g man ^q can mcrease its 

revenue and eliminate waste in the distribution of 
the fruits of intelligently directed labor. To do this 
he must insist that the advertising columns of the 
paper be as informative and interesting as the news 
columns. It is not as easy as it appears. 

Many publishers have added to their personal in- 
comes and made their publications more useful to 
the readers, and therefore more valuable to the ad- 
vertisers, by writing copy for those who buy their ad- 
vertising space. 

It would pay each one of the 800,000 retail dealers 
of America to study advertising, the laws which 
govern it, and its methods; and then apply them. 

The manufacturer who advertises serves the con- 
sumer by keeping in touch with him in gathering 
data for advertising, and by teaching him how to 
make the best use of what he buys. Every merchant, 
every salesman behind the counter, every commercial 
traveller, every sales manager, should know what is 
right and what is wrong in advertising. Those who 



ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES 205 

neglect so to equip themselves must not complain 
when they are supplanted by those who have done so. 
It is noteworthy that universities are now offering 
courses in journalism and advertising, and that there 
Advertising are severa l correspondence courses in adver- 
Courses in tising that are well worth the time and 

Universities ,i i i mi i 

money they demand. Ine only warning 
I should voice with reference to the study of adver- 
tising applies with equal force to all theoretical 
knowledge. A fact is a theory that has been demon- 
strated. 

All learning is valuable in so far as it trains one to 
think and teaches the principles which control the 
everyday events of life. 

The spirit, not the letter, is the thing. To imitate 
is servile. 

Many an advertising failure is the result of follow- 
ing precedent blindly, of applying the letter of the 
law instead of its intent, the slavish imitation of the 
mannerisms and style of the successful. It is the 
frank, spontaneous expression, allowing the style to 
take care of itself, which has the appeal. 

The quiet, unobtrusive service methods of present- 
day salesmanship, as contrasted with the boister- 
ousness and occasional sharp practice of its fore- 
runner of a quarter of a century ago, is paralleled 
by the differences between the advertising man of 
that period and the writer of copy, the illustrator, 
and the solicitor of to-day, who rely upon a simple, 
straightforward story to the consumer. An expres- 



206 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

sion which diverts attention from the main issue 
— the service the consumer is to receive — is wasteful. 
The opportunity in advertising is the opportunity 
which exists in all merchandising and selling — +o 
eliminate waste, and to install and maintain simple, 
direct methods which conserve the buyer's time by 
giving him, with the least effort on his part, a com- 
plete understanding of the usefulness he is to have in 
his purchase. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XX 

"How to Get a Position and How to Keep It," 
1908 (Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York), by 
S. Roland Hall, will help the beginner market his 
ability. 

"The Message to Garcia," by Elbert Hubbard, 
must always remain a classic in revealing the kind of 
man who grasps and makes the most of the oppor- 
tunities that are in his path. Mr. Hubbard's 
brochure, " Get Out or Get in Line," is typical of his 
sound business philosophy. His style can be profit- 
ably studied by every writer of advertising copy. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE ADVERTISING MANAGER 

THE young man who is considering making 
advertising his life work is apt to think that 
the position of advertising manager is the 
most desirable goal. 

In so many cases he has a notion that the work of 
an advertising manager consists mainly of sitting at 
a desk where he interviews men who have all kinds 
of space to sell, photographers, printers, engravers, 
artists, and dealers in novelties. 

True, there are advertising managers whose only 

duty it is to act as a buffer for the man higher up. 

Th And to a certain extent this is worthy 

Advertising work. Many of them show keen dis- 

ShS crimination and judgment in selecting 

Direct from the mass of detail which comes to 

their attention each day the ones which 

deserve to be taken up with the sales manager or 

the head of the business. 

The duties of an advertising manager cannot be 
strictly defined in scope, or standardized. In many 
cases an advertising manager has absolute author- 
ity; or he may have authority only to investi- 

207 



208 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER^ 

gate and make recommendations. Still others are 
clerks to whom the checking of detail work is 
delegated. 

The duties of an advertising manager, strictly 
construed, should be those of a sales manager — he 
should interpret the sales policy of the business, both 
to the personal salesmen and to those who are reached 
through the medium of printers' ink. My twenty 
years' experience in the advertising business lead me 
to believe that the advertising manager's job is just 
about as big as the man who occupies it. Mr. H. 
M. Swetland, president of the Class Journal Pub- 
lishing Company, once said to me that he couldn't 
make a trade paper any bigger than the man who 
was editing it. 

Sometimes it has happened that an advertising 

manager, with his first broad insight into business, 

has grasped the possibilities of the market, 

Advertising in its relationship to the group of people 

Can "create tna ^ sustain and make it possible, better 

N 7 ew than his superior officers have. And, in 

Policies , , . i . ,i 

consequence, has been advanced to the 
highest executive positions in other businesses in 
charge of men who were big enough to appreciate 
creative ability and grasp of selling opportunities. 

Instances could be cited, almost indefinitely, of 
the rise of the advertising manager, in present-day 
big businesses, to an executive position having a 
part in the direction and control of the policy of the 
institution. 



THE ADVERTISING MANAGER 209 

In the course of a successful business career every 

man passes through four distinct epochs. First, 

The Four m the days when he is earning enough 

Epochs money to pay for his clothes and board 
Business and have something besides, without being 

Career dependent in any way upon his parents, 
comes the consciousness that he can support himself. 

This is a prime satisfaction, to be remembered 
fondly. It is the foundation upon which the execu- 
tive has built his career — the fact that he can say 
that at a certain age he performed a certain duty 
for a certain sum, and that he earned what he got, 
without any pull, preference, or any consideration 
other than actual value rendered the business upon 
whose pay roll his name appeared. 

In the second epoch the young man has measured 
up to taking care of, without supervision, responsibility 

Second wn ich is delegated to him. He realizes 
Epoch— that he is trusted and must act upon his 

Working .... , . , . , , . 

Without own initiative and m accordance with nis 
Supervision own j U( j gment . He has learned that hon- 
esty, dependability, and the power to accept respon- 
sibility bring him extra cash dividends, dividends in 
addition to the sum to which the amount of physical 
and mental labor he can put into his task entitle him. 

This is the position occupied by many travelling 
salesmen. Unfortunately for them and for the firms 
they represent, sometimes they feel that this stage 
is the limit of their ability, a mental attitude which 
handicaps them seriously. 



210 ADVERTISING— SELLING.THE CONSUMER 

The third epoch might be termed the executive 
period. It begins when the man first realizes that, 
if given assistants to whom he might dele- 
te Sub- gate work to be handled under his super- 
Y s dl Epoch vision, he could accomplish more for him- 
N umber se }f and m0 re for his employers. The man 
who reaches this stage is on the sure road 
to advancement, for there is always some one ahead 
of him doing work he can well afford to delegate, in 
order that he may have time for bigger things. 

The organization which makes every member of it 
feel that there is work to be done which is worth 
more money than he is now getting, and that in order 
to handle the higher grade of work he must delegate 
wherever possible to men getting less than he is, is 
bound to be a growing, united, progressive, successful 
business. 

The man in the fourth epoch of development is able 

to command the cooperation of men more expert 

7 than he. As the head of a department he 

Command- . . . - . 

ing Co- greatly mcreases his power by winning the 
oVtt^Men confidence of other heads who are co- 
ls Fourth ordinating with him. As chief executive of 
a big business, the man who can get the most 
help from his lawyer, his banker, and all the experts 
associated with firms from whom his business buys 
and to whom it sells, is worth much more even than 
is one who is prolific of original ideas. True execu- 
tive ability is shown in getting things done by the 
men most competent to do them. 



THE ADVERTISING MANAGER 211 

The advertising manager should delegate as much 

work as possible, for the reason that by working with 

experts he will get the best work done on 

Judgment tne most economical basis. His judg- 

More Im- me nt as to where and how things should be 

Than done is worth more to the house than his 
E Details 9 s ^^ * n doing things himself. In this way 
he is bound to put himself in a position 
where he can grow with his institution. 

Fortunate indeed is the young man who is adver- 
tising manager for a business the executive head of 
which is dominated by an ambition to be a controlling 
factor in the market. For such a man is always 
ready and willing to assume increased responsibility 
himself, and when that happens will delegate freely 
the work he is doing to men who can take it off his 
hands. 

It is often necessary for the young subordinate to 
take work away from the executive, by main force. 
But if the latter aims to be a dominating factor in his 
market, he will approve rather than resent such ac- 
tion on the part of his advertising manager. Forti- 
fied with a simple system of accounting which shows 
at all times that he is taking care of the responsibili- 
ties entrusted to him, the advertising manager is 
sure to advance more rapidly, in a large business, 
than will associates having equal ability, unless it be 
the general sales manager. 

An advertising manager should keep in touch with 
general literature of all kinds. He should constantly 



212 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

watch the development of new ideas. He should 
take his work seriously, and develop the broadest 
possible culture, keeping always in close touch with 
all the men who have practical experience in the 
details of the business with which he is connected. 

It is the same principle that inspires the head of 
the largest business to use the best banker, the best 
physician, the best architect, the best engineer, the 
best lawyer, the best expert in every line. And it is 
the man who entrenches himself in modern business 
in this way whose position is practically impregnable. 
" The advertising manager should be the peer of 
every one of his associate officials. To perform fully 
his function, as I have said before, he 

Business snou ld have the supervision of sales. He 

Should Be should be a part of every conference at 

Book to the which the policy of the house is discussed. 

A Manage U T Advertising is effective in so many different 

directions that no question arises in any 

business organization upon which advertising has 

and can have no bearing. 

An advertising manager, in order to comprehend 
his responsibility fully, should have passed through 
the three preliminary epochs of business experience 
and be in the fourth. He should deserve and be able 
to get the complete confidence and intelligent co- 
peration of the head of the business. 

He should be able to command the confidence and 
cooperation of the factory superintendent and of all 
the salesmen on the road, whether they repcr': 



THE ADVERTISING MANAGER 213 

directly to him or to another who has coordinate 
authority with him in sales. He should be able to 
employ (and secure the best results from his personal 
contact with) expert printers, advertising writers, 
publishers, and organized advertising institutions 
equipped for giving service. 

It has been well said that a bad workman quarrels 

with his tools. The advertising manager who com- 

The Strong plains that he cannot get service from those 

/4 (1 DPTfl 9? 77 fl 

Manager with whom it is his business to deal thereby 
Must Be stamps himself as mediocre. Ability to in- 

Maturem x " 

Development spire men with whom he does business to do 
their best is one of his greatest assets. It is the qual- 
ity in him that will make his efforts count for most. 

Advertising in itself is too complex, too broad in 
scope, too infinite in detail for any one man to master 
it all. The man who accomplishes most as an adver- 
tising manager is the man who knows where the best 
work can be done and how to get it for the institution 
with which he is connected. But he cannot get it 
by sitting in his office and waiting for good things to 
be brought to him. 

There are men, capable and valuable, who have not 

yet learned how to sell their ability in a market where 

it will be most appreciated. No man ought 

Knowing x . ° 

Where to to be more conscious ot this than the adver- 
se** l the ti sm g manager, and he should be most alert 
Secret of to leave his office to find out where the 
best service, in the lines he can use, is to 
be secured and developed. 



214 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

I should advise the young man who accepts the 
position of advertising manager for a business that 
has never done any advertising to proceed about as 
follows : 

Usually he is expected to write their copy. The 
best thing for him to do — and he shouldn't undertake 

A , . the job at all unless he is able to write 

Advice to " 

Advertising plain, sensible, ordinary, everyday, one- 

foTcfon- syllable English — would be to saturate 

cemNewto himself with the ideas by which the best 

Advertising « 

salesmen of the house produce permanent 
business. By permanent business I mean sales to 
customers who show their satisfaction by repeat 
orders and a constantly increasing volume of business 
each year. 

When completely saturated with every phase of 
the service which his house excels in performing, 
the advertising manager will embody this knowledge 
in the copy and letters he writes, intensify the hold 
the house has on its present group of customers, and 
intelligently devise ways and means of enlarging 
the customer group. 

The next step is to select a printer in whose 
honesty and integrity he has complete confidence. 
He should accept no favors of any kind from 
him. If he goes to lunch with him, he should make 
it a rule, either to buy his own lunch always, or to 
alternate with the printer in paying for lunch for 
both. 

The temptation to accept little favors from those 



THE ADVERTISING MANAGER 215 

from whom one buys is great. But the advertising 
manager who can be influenced only by quality 

Getting an< ^ service and who insists, in the name 

Saturated f his firm, upon reciprocity in matters 

Information of this kind, has gone a long way toward 

Essential msurm g fog own standards and getting the 

best service from those with whom he deals. 

A good printer is a man who knows how to manage 

his own business successfully, who doesn't estimate 

on a hit-or-miss basis, who has an organ- 

Printer lze &> systematic scale of prices, and figures 
fairly and honestly. Such a man will 
usually have time to confer with the young adver- 
tising manager, and, because he is a good business 
man himself, can generally be of assistance in the 
solution of the advertising manager's problems. 

I know several young advertising managers who owe 
much to having given their confidence to self-respect- 
ing successful printers, having a regular scale of charges, 
who do business on a sound but profitable basis. 

Everything said about the printer is true of the 
engraver, the paper house, and all the others who 
come in to sell to the advertising manager. The 
latter should never forget for an instant that he is a 
trustee of his employers' interests, that he can main- 
tain his self-respect only by handling every dollar so 
that it will produce the largest possible return for the 
house. 

Many young men do not seem to realize that a 
high standard of responsibility has a reflex in the 



216 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

development of their character. It also attracts 
to them a class of men who can afford to be discrimi- 
nating in the customers they select. 

The man who buys on a service basis is bound to be 
cultivated by men who sell on that basis. It is cer- 
tain that intimate, confident cooperation between 
men who buy and sell, each giving the best possible 
service to the business for which the advertising is 
being developed, is sure to maintain advertising 
itself on the highest possible plane. 

Much could be said about the observance of 
orderly, systematic habits in one's personal life and 
in relation to one's business associates. 

It is a mistake for an advertising manager to allow 
any man holding a responsible position in the 
organization to remain in an indifferent or 
The an antagonistic attitude toward him. 

A Manager 9 lt is the function of advertising to create 
Must good- will. An advertising manager can 

Command , • i . 

Good-will scarcely expect to organize and systema- 
\n His ^.j ze foe protection of good-will for his 

Organiza- tint 

tion house unless he first has mastered the art 
of creating good-will for himself inside his 
own organization. 

The general manager of a large institution told me 
once that his advertising manager would more than 
earn the very large salary he was being paid, even 
if he never wrote any copy or did anything except 
promote harmony and good fellowship among heads 
of departments. 



THE ADVERTISING MANAGER 217 

I should also advise every young advertising man- 
ager to shoulder every bit of responsibility he can 
make good on. The first thing he wants to do is 
to create the impression that if there is work to be 
done, he can do it. Then he should systematize 
his own work, so that not more than 50 per cent, 
of his time is occupied with its actual details. A 
good executive can organize his work so that he can 
be free at least half his time, free for interviewing 
those who call to see him, and to go out in search of 
new ideas. 

I believe an advertising manager should accord 
at least one audience to every man who calls on him. 
If the salesman does not convince him then that he 
has something the house needs, he is not entitled to a 
second interview. 

The advertising manager who tells callers about 
his own achievements and what he intends to do is 
wasting time for everybody concerned; unless he 
does it deliberately, with the idea of stimulating 
more valuable suggestions or confidences from his 
listeners. 

The best way to get the whole story of the man 
who calls on the advertising manager is to let the 

How to ca ^ er d° a ^ the talking. Few men have a 

Get All story that cannot be told within fifteen 

Callers minutes. A man who has posted himself 

Can Give sufficiently on the business of the house, 

and still takes more time than that to tell his story, 

ought to be listened to respectfully and encouraged 



218 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

to bring in other ideas on which specific suggestions 
for usefulness could be based. Nothing proclaims 
the business ability of an advertising manager more 
effectively than willingness to accept ideas and sug- 
gestions, and to accord credit freely to all who bring 
them to him. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XXI 

"The Job, the Man, the Boss," by Blackford and 
Newcomb (published by Doubleday, Page & Co., 
New York), is a valuable book for an advertis- 
ing man to read. It will help him determine the 
character of the men who call upon him, and it 
will put him in position to advise and counsel with 
the executives. 

"Thoughts on Business," by Waldo Pondray War- 
ren (published by Forbes & Company, Chicago), 
are suggestive and stimulating to guide one's own 
thinking. It is well to remember that thoughts 
must be put into action constantly in order to pre- 
vent the thinker becoming a dreamer. 

"How to Write a Business Letter," by Chas. R. 
Wiers (published by the author, 631 W. Delavan 
Avenue, Buffalo, New York), is the most thoughtful 
and practical treatise on this subject that I have 
seen. Anybody who writes will be benefited by 
reading Mr. Wiers' book. 



CHAPTER XXII 

THE ADVERTISING SOLICITOR 

THE actual work of selling gives me greater 
pleasure than anything else I do in business. 
I have said many times that I do not be- 
lieve I am by nature a salesman. It was wholly a 
bread and butter proposition that started me selling 
space for an Iowa newspaper edited by my father for 
more than fifty years. It was there that I got what- 
ever education I received after graduation from high 
school and one year at a small academy. 

My first attempt to sell space in our newspaper 

was laughable. I tried to persuade a man in the 

A First tombstone business to have a clearing sale. 

Attempt at I was reading the Chicago daily papers 

mg and it seemed that was about the only 

thing the retail merchant could advertise. Three 

months later I called on the tombstone man again, 

and he told me, with considerable feeling, that I 

had done him a great injury. 

Asked if no one had read his advertisement, he 
answered: "Oh yes, I think everybody must have 
read it." 

He had lost ten good jobs, he complained, promised 

219 



220 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

him by farmers if their harvest should be good. For 
his competitor had told them he was going out of 
business, and the farmers would not have believed 
it if they hadn't read the clearing-sale advertisement. 
I have said many times that what I know about 
advertising has been gained by actual sales experience, 
from which I deducted fundamental work- 

Advertising • . . , T . .„. , 

Can Harm m g principles. I am quite willing to 

as Well as conce de that advertising can harm the 
advertiser as much as it can help him. 
Advertising is a good deal like food. Three meals a 
day keep one in better condition for work than spas- 
modically gorging and starving would. Too little and 
too much are equally harmful. Successful advertis- 
ing will always call for careful judgment which is 
based upon positive knowledge of actual conditions. 
In Chapter XXI, I indicated that an advertising- 
manager who wants to give his customers the largest 
possible service for their money can well afford to 
cultivate the cooperation and confidence of printers, 
engravers, and dealers in advertising supplies who 
are creative salesmen, "creative" in the true sense 
of the word. 

This fact is the advertising solicitor's greatest 
opportunity. He must know accurately the merits 

A Solicitor °t tne medium he represents. He ought 
Should to know what the medium he is selling 

What He will do under certain definite conditions. 

Is Selling This ^ ft ^ of j^ equ ; pment> 

His success depends upon his ability to make sure 



THE ADVERTISING SOLICITOR 221 

that the person or institution buying from him gets 
the largest possible service in results. 

No retail merchant ever voluntarily bought space 
in the daily paper for which I first solicited adver- 
tising. But the traveling patent medicine man, the 
advance agent for the circus and the man who came 
to town every now and then and rented a storeroom 
where he conducted a fire sale, always called on us 
and bought space; apparently with the purpose of 
appearing to be liberal and free-handed spenders. 

Some of my most valuable lessons in advertising 

were gained by helping the retail merchant write 

his copy. When I moved to Chicago, in 

Writing the 1891, very few business men were willing 

mentOnce to admit that any one could write their 

Prerogative advertisements as well as they could. 

One of the marks of progress in adver- 
tising is the change which has taken place in the 
minds of advertisers and advertising managers as 
to who can best write their copy. 

Few men are able to put into clear-cut, understand- 
able English the sales-impelling thoughts of a master- 
ful, creative salesman. It is a gift, and a power — this 
knowing how to put words and phrases on paper, or 
to put ideas into an illustration, so that the adver- 
tisement will influence thousands, at a time, to do 
that which the personal salesman can get only one at 
a time to do, at the cost of a talk lasting from twenty 
minutes to two hours in each case. 

The advertising solicitor's opportunity lies in un- 



222 AD VERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

derstanding the service possibilities of the advertising 

accounts he is soliciting. He must be resourceful. 

,„,.., He must be able to convince those whose 

A Solicitor . iii. 

Must Give business he seeks that his medium, plus 

ermce y g ^eas in connection with the use of it, 

will give the largest possible service to the advertiser. 

The service idea is very marked in advertising sales- 
manship to-day. It will be more so in the future. 

We have outgrown the old idea of salesmanship — 
that it was clever to catch the buyer unawares and 
"put something over" on him. Review mentally 
the names of the men who were prominent in adver- 
tising salesmanship twenty years ago, and compare 
them, in personality and method, with the men who 
are leaders to-day. 

I have often said I was trained in the school of 

salesmanship which taught that the best salesman 

m7 XT had the most turn-downs, because he made 

The New 

Order of the most calls. 

o icitmg rp^ j Qg j. ga j e j g ^ e g rea t es t opportunity 

in advertising to-day. The man who sells adver- 
tising space or advertising material must master the 
art of having practically no lost sales. 

One of the most effective means of winning the 

Turning confidence of the buyer and of making sure 

Down f getting a hearing, as against competitors, 

a Royal the next time he is in the market, is to de- 

Future dine to sell him, even when it is apparent 

Business that the sale could be closed, if it is evident 

that the purchase would not be profitable for him. 



THE ADVERTISING SOLICITOR 223 

This is a form of advertising which the advertising 
solicitor can cultivate most profitably. One of the 
surest ways of proving your sincerity is to refuse to 
make money when you have a chance. 

By convincing the buyer that you want his money 
only when you can give him the largest possible 
service for it, the advertising solicitor saves himself 
many fruitless calls. Then buyers will regard his 
call upon them as an honor. When they learn that 
he is in the reception-room, or is telephoning for an 
appointment, they will feel sure he has something to 
tell them which they cannot afford to miss. 

In this way the advertising solicitor can build 
permanent personal prestige and a loyal customer 
following; thereby overcoming, to the largest pos- 
sible extent, the general handicap of being able to 
be in only one place at a time and of being limited 
to not more than ten efficient hours' work each day. 

If asked to advise a young man who wants to 
become an advertising solicitor, I should urge him to 
get a position with a well-established, well-managed 
newspaper or magazine, a printing or an engraving 
house. Select as employer one who has a reputation 
for making good on every responsibility. Pay no 
attention to the size of the salary for the first year. 
Then I should make a list of prospective 

°l7 t a ig advertisers, selecting those whose position 

Serious m the market fits them for delivering a 

Job ' . . » i 

larger service to the group of people 
which your medium serves better than any other. 



£24 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Know your own medium absolutely. The 
best way to find out all about it is to start out 
selling it. Jot down in a memorandum book every 
question asked you. When you go back to the office 
have this answered by the man who knows most 
about it. The next time that particular question is 
asked, you will know how to answer it clearly, con- 
cisely, and completely. 

Very soon you will have at your tongue's end 
clear-cut, definite, convincing answers for practically 
every question the buyer will ask. 

In presenting the merits of what you have to sell, 
always visualize the maximum assistance it can 
give the prospective advertiser in accomplishing his 
plans for his own market. 

Avoid discussion of technical detail. 

Never discuss competitors. This is the safe path 
for the young solicitor; it is the custom even with 
the majority of old-timers who are in position to 
discuss competitors intelligently and accurately. 
Their time is too valuable to waste upon argu- 
ment. 

The best informed salesmen I know (if competitors 
are discussed at all) name the particular in which 
they consider the competitor most successful. Then, 
conceding this, they prove that the house which they 
are representing is even better equipped for giving 
just that kind of service. 

The advertising solicitor ought to take his work 
seriously. He should be serious in his approach 



THE ADVERTISING SOLICITOR 225 

and in his discussion of business matters with the 

buyer. He should never joke about his own busi- 

ness or speak flippantly of it. He cannot 

Should Be command the respect of other people unless 

^Serious ne nmisenC treats his business respectfully. 

—Never Confidence and respect are so nearly 

Clownish , . . xl , ., . 

synonymous and so interwoven that it is 
difficult to separate them. Confidence is the only basis 
on which permanent business-building sales are made. 

By this I mean, not that one shouldn't joke or laugh 
and have a good time, but that one's stories should be 
clean and all jokes should be about things having 
nothing to do with business and in no way reflecting on 
the honor or integrity or the ability of the people 
associated with him and the house he represents. 

An advertising solicitor should know more about 

the use of the medium he represents than the man he 

The is soliciting can know. He must make 

Solicitor the man to whom he is talking believe this. 

Must Know _, _ . . _ 

—Bluffing Ine surest way to do it is to be so strongly 
Doesn t Go e q U ipp e( j w fth knowledge, facts and figures 
about how his medium has been used that he can 
discuss the subject accurately and intelligently. 

The advertising solicitor should be definite in his 
statements. He should not deal in generalities. 
He shouldn't tell a partial story. If he gives a 
definite transaction in detail, he should point out 
both its good and bad features, and endeavor to 
show how the latter might have been avoided. 

One of the best rules for an advertising solicitor 



226 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

to follow is the old one: "Plan your work and work 
your plan." He must avoid antagonizing the buyer. 
And for that reason he should discuss with him no 
subject about which there could be a justifiable dif- 
ference of opinion. 

Under no circumstances should an advertising 

solicitor or a salesman permit criticism of the house 

Criticism he represents. This is the most serious 

HousTls reflection on his own judgment that can 

Fatal to fo e ma( j e> A good salesman does not have to 

Success associate himself with an inferior business. 

The man who allows a buyer to say that he is all 
right but that his house is wrong is committing busi- 

Sellinq ness SIUC ide. If ^ ne house is wrong, he 

Space should quit it. If it is right, he should 
Publishers defend it and absolutely refuse to listen 
a Big Job j- cr iticism. Minor errors should be 
conceded and corrected without discussion. 

The best businesses are constantly on the lookout 
for and eager to hire more salesmen of the right sort. 

There is no work which affords a more pleasant 
opportunity for making use of the best there is in 
one than in the sale of advertising space for a large 
institution. It means working with 13-inch guns, 
it is doing things in a big constructive way. 

The demand for big men as advertising solicitors 
greatly exceeds the supply. And the period of 
training which fits one for holding such a position is 
longer or fully as long as that which the lawyer, the 
physician, the architect, and the engineer must have. 



THE ADVERTISING SOLICITOR %%1 

It is the old story it takes longer to lay the founda- 
tion for a twenty-story building than for a two-story 

rrv rr , Cottage. 

The Hunt s 

for Young men must be ready to work and 

eager to learn while they are developing. 
Training the judgment is an essential part of prep- 
aration for filling big positions in the advertising 
business. Fortunately, judgment can be trained, 
for judgment is experience, intensified by clear, 
analytical thought. Judgment gives men courage 
to try the task they know to be fundamentally sound, 
over and over again; convinced that ultimately all 
obstacles will be overcome. 

The two largest publishing interests in the United 
States are conducted by men who are conspicuous 
for periodically going out on what they call a "man 
hunt." The officials of these organizations have been 
recruited from all over the United States. 

Men in small places (who have swung responsi- 
bility in a well-rounded way) are sought for, to fill 
the larger positions. A well-balanced character, 
ability to see below the surface, courage to continue, 
no matter how many the rebuffs, confidence that 
sound business principles will ultimately win, and 
a rigid adherence to what one is convinced 
tor's Fate is sound basically, all tempered by cour- 

Largely tes y> kindness, and forbearance, are bound 

in His to win in the long run. 

Own Hands ,™ , ... , . . , , ■, , 

1 he advertising solicitor s hazards are 
many, more numerous than in any other line of 



228 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

business with which I am familiar. But the master- 
ing of all these difficulties gives him the satisfaction 
of achievement and accomplishment which main- 
tains his own self-respect. This, after all, is the 
goal most worth striving for. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XXII 

The editorials of Arthur Brisbane in the Hearst 
papers are well worth careful reading by every solici- 
tor for three reasons: (1) Mr. Brisbane understands 
the group spirit and knows how to hold attention 
of a very large portion of the reading public; (2) he 
keeps in very close touch with the development of 
scientific and philosophic thought, and (3) because 
of his masterly interpretion of technical subjects 
in plain, simple language that anyone can under- 
stand. 

It is my conviction that an advertising solicitor 
ought to be reading continually the works of men 
who have given much thought to specialized subjects 
such as Ruskin's "Unto This Last"; George Horace 
Lorimer's "Old Gorgon Graham: More Letters from 
a Self-made Merchant to His Son" (Doubieday, 
Page & Co., Garden City, N. Y., 1904); Otto Weini- 
ger's "Sex and Character" (G. P. Putnam & Sons, 
N. Y., 1906); Crewson's "Tales of the Road" (Gros- 
sett & Dunlap, New York), and H. G. Wells' "Wai 
of the Worlds" (Harper Bros. & Company, New York, 
1909). 

All these books stimulate thought and suggest new 



THE ADVERTISING SOLICITOR 229 

ways of approaching the solution of fundamental 
problems. 

"Getting the Most Out of Business/' by E. St, 
Elmo Lewis (The Ronald Press, New York), is a 
very readable presentation of modern "efficiency" 
thought from the standpoint of a successful adver- 
tising manager. (Note: I intended in writing 
"Advertising-Selling the Consumer" to refrain from 
using the words "efficiency" or "psychology" but I 
really need the word "efficiency" to describe the 
contents of Mr. Lewis' book.) 

The Ronald Press publishes a number of other 
books of special interest to advertising men. Speci- 
ally noteworthy are: 

"Selling Newspaper Space" by Joseph H. Chas- 
noff, late Manager of Advertising Promotion, St. 
Louis Republic, 1913, 133 pages, 5| x 8. Cloth, 
$1.50. 

"Advertising — Its Principles and Practice," Tip- 
per, Hotchkiss, Kollmgworth, and Parsons, 1915. 
575 pages, 162 illustrations, Cloth $4. 

"Effective Business Letters" by Edward H. 
Gardner of the Faculty of the University of Wiscon- 
sin. Second edition, 1915, 376 pages, 5\ x 7J, 
Cloth, $2. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

MAIL-ORDER ADVERTISING 

^ADVERTISING is most competent when it 

/\ serves the consumer in the distribution of 
X A. worthy merchandise through the natural 
channels of trade. 

Some people think that the mail-order business is 
an illogical and unnatural business, because it elimi- 
nates the jobber, the traveling salesman, and the 
retailer. It is not. It is the direct result of intel- 
ligent and adequate advertising. No one can fully 
grasp the power of national advertising and mer- 
chandising through the ordinary channels of trade 
until he clearly comprehends the possibilities and 
the limitations of the mail-order business. 

The total business of mail-order houses cannot be 

accurately determined. The business for 1914 of 

the two largest aggregated less than $200,000,000. 

It is not possible for me to believe that 

Room for all others brought the grand total up to 

B o°rder M and $1,000,000,000. 

Dealer There are 20,689,000 families in the 

/>7V *?7 TIP 99 

United States. Their income is about 
$27,000,000,000. With twenty-seven billions coming 

230 



MAIL-ORDER ADVERTISING 2S1 

in and not over one billion going out in mail-order 
business, our 790,886 retailers and 42,293 whole- 
salers have a chance to do an excellent business. 

There are in the United States 2,164 towns having 

a population of 2,500 people or more or a total of 

41,140,847. More than 42,000,000 people live on 

our 6,361,502 farms. This leaves about 8,000,000 in 

villages of less than 2,500. Our 42,517 rural mail 

routes serve 16,199,000 people. These Rg- 

MaU-arder ures prove that there is a natural and strict- 

N^turaUnd ^ legitimate place for mail-order business, 

Legitimate and it is bound to increase in volume each 

year. 

A large wholesale jobbing house has recently been 
estimating the cost of doing business with three 
classes of merchants, i. e., those located in towns of 
(1) less than 2,500 population, (2) between 2,500 and 
25,000, and (3) 25,000 and up. The figures prove 
it does not pay to send a traveling salesman with a 
full line of samples to a town the population of which 
is less than 2,500; and that unless the merchant him- 
self goes to the market often, he cannot meet mail- 
order competition, for his merchandise will not 
satisfy the wants which the newspapers and maga- 
zines have aroused by the story of what is newest 
and best in the large cities. 

For many years I have been asking my dealer 
friends this question, "Does a live, wide-awake 
local merchant who comes to market at least twice 
a year fear mail-order competition?" I have still 



232 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

to find an instance in which a good merchant was 
unable to meet and overcome it. Mail-order busi- 

The Live ness depends on the inadequate stocks or 
W MercT ) nt e mcom P e tency of local merchants or serves 

Has No a class of people so widely scattered and 
Mail-order having wants and desires so occasional 
Competition that it would not pay the local merchant 
to consider them. 

This, it seems to me, is the logical field of mail- 
order business, and retailers and mail-order houses 
The are recognizing it. It includes courses of 
Field That instruction by correspondence, awarding 

Mail-order . « ,-, , P « 

Advertisers premiums ior the sale ot soaps, pertumes, 
Better ^Than ^ eas ' an ^ co ^ ees to one's neighbors, buying 
Any One diamonds and household furniture on the 
installment plan, and all kinds of farm 
utensils, building materials, bicycles, buggies, pianos, 
piano players, and the like. Dealers in poultry and 
poultry supplies, and subscription agents have been 
especially successful with mail-order methods. The 
purchasers are so widely scattered and the lines so sea- 
sonable that it does not pay the retailer to stock them. 
Quite a number of nationally advertised lines of 
merchandise were started in a mail-order way. When 
Many a group of influential consumers had been 
^Advertised developed, the agency for the line was given 
Lines to a local retailer, who cooperated with the 

Started in a , • 1 i , • • mi • i i r 

Mail-order national advertising. Inis plan has been 
Wa y most economical and successful in introduc- 
ing such articles as card-index cabinets, sectional 



MAIL-ORDER ADVERTISING 233 

bookcases, guaranteed hosiery, tailors-to-the-trade 
supplies, washing machines, safety razors, typewriters, 
and cameras. 

Each mail-order house builds its own consumer 
group. The sum total of these small groups con- 
stitutes one great group which buys by mail. There 
are a number of publications of national circulation 
whose subscription lists are the result of sending 
circulars through the mails. There are some which 
are called "mail-order papers." 

Those who subscribe by mail are most likely to buy 
by mail. In Augusta, Me., a city of 13,000, two 
Choosing publishing houses send out, each day of the 
the Medium year, an average of more than a carload of 
Mail-order mail-order matter. To look through the 
Advertising advertising columns of these publications, 
to answer the advertisements, and to study the fol- 
low-up material would be a liberal education in mail- 
order methods. 

No mail-order business that I know of has been 
successful in attempting to sell direct from its adver- 
tisements. 

Mail-order advertising aims to locate possible 

buyers. Whether or not a mail-order business will 

pay depends upon the contents of the cata- 

uy Systems logues, printed literature, and sales letters 

in Every which are sent out to follow an inquiry. 

Mail-order Many of the mail-order businesses which 

rill ^77?^^ 

have accumulated money during the last 
twenty years have been based on plausible but in- 



234 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

sincere appeals. But the government has put most 
of these fakes out of business. 

Mail-order houses which make good on their pro- 
mises merit the confidence their customers have in 

Sales them. Their catalogues are informative, 
Producing models of logical and emotional appeal, and 

High could profitably be studied by every mer- 

Quality chant and clerk who handles similar lines. 

used by . 

Mail-order Houses which put out large catalogues 
reckon each page as worth several thousand 
dollars in sales power. Each department is charged 
with the cost of the space it occupies in the cata- 
logue. Therefore a high premium is placed upon 
ability to write accurate, informative, sales-com- 
pelling descriptions of the items illustrated there. 
Catalogues are not sent out indiscriminately. 
Great care is taken to prepare the mind of the recip- 
ient for the catalogue and to invest it with value 
in his or her eyes. Customers who have not ordered 
for some time are cut off the mailing-list. 

Each letter or inquiry is completely and cheerfully 

answered. Each complaint is given courteous and 

careful attention. The confidence of the buyer is 

stimulated and courted in every possible 

Confidence wa y> even to sending goods on approval. 

—the Con- This really is not the risk it appears, be- 

of the cause the postal laws of the United States 

M 1tZf r are strictly enforced. Our Government 

deals promptly with the man who buys 

merchandise by mail and does not pay for it. Express 



MAIL-ORDER ADVERTISING 235 

companies allow buyers to inspect goods sent them 
on approval by a mail-order house and return them 
to the shippers if they are unsatisfactory. 

It is interesting to note (as proof that the mail- 
order business does not encroach upon the territory 
covered through the ordinary channels of trade) that 
large retail stores have found it impossible to build 
successful mail-order departments with the talent 
which is useful and valuable in serving the consumer 
over the counter. 

There is something fascinating about being able to 

write a piece of copy that will produce direct mail- 

,, ., , order replies within a certain cost. The 

Mail-order * 

Copy Must preparation of mail-order literature, the 
Off set the answering of letters, and the handling of 
Prestige, th e goods themselves must be delegated to 

Displays, . tit 

and Per- persons who realize that they must more 
S ZanMp~ than offset the prestige-producing and 
of the confidence-building effect of a well-located 
store, attractive counter and window dis- 
plays, and capable salesmen. The copy-writer must 
understand the value of these factors, and replace 
them in his advertisements, catalogues and in the 
letters and other "follow-ups" he sends to each in- 
quirer. 

The building of an advertisement which shall at- 
tract new customers for a mail-order house is as 
severe a test as a copy writer can be put to. Unless 
he gets enough direct responses from the right class 
of people to make the merchandising effort as a whole 



236 ADVERTISING^SELLING THE CONSUMER 

profitable, his work is wasted. He must know how 
to tell an interesting and plausible story; he must 
also have the faculty of putting into that story an 
appeal to the buying impulse which will bring a re- 
sponse large enough to prove constantly that his work 
is being well done. He must keep in mind the 
cost as well as the stimulating character all the 
follow-up material which is to be used upon these 
inquiries, so that he will not attract the merely 
curious. 

The trained writer of mail-order advertisements 

knows that a single word may affect seriously the 

Every Word numDer oi inquiries received. The head- 

Must Be Hne, "Increase Your Salary," brought 

Carefully . ••••.! 

Weighed in twice as many inquiries, m tne same 

Mait-order P UD h* ca 1ion, as "Increase Your Income," 

Advertise- the body of the advertisement being exactly 

the same. 

A considerable portion of the want columns of 

daily newspapers and of the advertising space 

of mail-order papers is devoted to "Agents Wanted" 

advertisements. The consumer undoubtedly pays 

more for an article that is peddled from house to 

house than for an equivalent value to be had at any 

reputable retailers. 

It is safe to assume, however, that as long as 
human nature is as it is, the satisfaction of having 
one's trade sought after and the pleasure of listening 
to a forceful sales talk will make it profitable to peddle 
sewing machines, subscription books, enlarged por- 



MAIL-ORDER ADVERTISING 237 

traits, and many household articles. Almost all such 
agents are secured by mail. 

Manufacturers whose product is to be sold by can- 
vassers put out ingenious advertising and follow-up 
The Chanae mat ter. The word "Rider," in front of the 
of One stereotyped but none the less dependable 
a Wonderful words "Agents Wanted," brought the 
Advertise- M ea( j Cycle Company 630 answers from a 

ment of a J . 

Mediocre single insertion of an inch advertisement in 
the Youth's Companion. Something about 
the headline, "Rider Agents Wanted," gave the old 
story a new significance, and many people wrote in 
who decided, when the agency plan was explained 
to them, to buy the bicycle but not to canvass for 
sales. 

Six pieces of copy, with different headlines, but all 
telling the same story, published on different pages 
Good of the same publication, brought answers 
Mail-order costing from 8 cents to $1.54 per inquiry. 
Should Be A good piece of mail-order copy can carry 
Repeated an expenditure of from $50,000 to $200,000 
before it wears out. A business which sells a course 
of instruction pays as high as $1.00 per inquiry, 
and makes good money on each of seven follow- 
up letters which are sent out within the next eighteen 
months. 

The best foundation for a mail-order business is 
the list of names resulting from dragnet advertise- 
ments in mediums of general circulation. 

Businesses have also been built up by circularizing 



238 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

lists of names. Several houses make a specialty of 

listing dealers according to sections, ratings, and 

the kind of merchandise handled, and 

Names of guarantee the names to be live and that 

Possible j-jjg addresses are correct. There is also a 

Buyers . 

business m selling names that are taken 
from answers to mail-order advertisements. At clip- 
ping bureaus one can buy lists of the names of 
persons who are accustomed to travel, those who are 
reported ill of certain diseases, those who contemplate 
building, and other information which is gathered 
from the newspapers. 

Seldom are mail-order advertisements used for 
any other purpose than to get new names of possible 
customers. Some houses have used large space in 
order to get a certain prestige. But in mail-order 
work the custom is to use no more space than is 
necessary to locate a possible buyer. Prestige-build- 

,, ., , ing and confidence-developing work must 
Advertising be done by the catalogue and follow-up lit- 

*L F T S erature. 

Attention V - X< **'" J - V " 

on the For many years a certain large seed house 

that sends out more than 500,000 catalogues 
during December and January has used large space 
in publications which have big circulations in 
March. Apparently the aim was to get new in- 
quiries for the catalogues. But in reality it is to 
centre attention upon the catalogues already placed 
in these 500,000 homes, and to stimulate immediate 
purchases. 



MAIL-ORDER ADVERTISING 239 

Much of the "Agents Wanted" misleading mail- 
order advertising has been barred out by the better 

Writing c * ass °^ national publications. It will be 
Mail Order refused by large daily newspapers as soon 

°True a as their publishers realize that the confi- 
Traimng ^ ence f the reader is an asset which should 
not be trifled with by advertisers who do not make 
good in every way. 

Many men who have been successful in planning 
and writing mail-order copy have found a larger and 
more profitable market for their ability in connection 
with the established channels of trade. 

For many lines of business, then, mail-order 
methods of locating and selling the customer are 
most economical, and for the introduction of a prod- 
uct often afford a quicker, more satisfactory, and 
more profitable national distribution than could be 
secured in any other way. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XXIII 

A live and readable monthly, the Mail Order 
Journal (Chicago), contains all the news about mail- 
order advertising and much valuable information 
about general advertising. 

In 1900 the Sawyer Publishing Company, Water- 
ville, Me., issued an interesting book, "Secrets of the 
Mail Order Trade." Though much of its data is 
now obsolete, it is well worth reading as an historical 
document. 

A complete series of the catalogues of any great 



240 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

mail-order house would give one the most graphic 
history of the development of mail-order methods 
and ideas. 

By answering the advertisements and reading the 
follow-up matter sent out by a successful mail-order 
house one can make sure that one's information is 
up to date. 






CHAPTER XXIV 

NATIONAL ADVERTISING AND EXCLUSIVE DEALERS 

ONE of the fallacies which an advertising man 
must combat constantly is the statement 
that if a little advertising is good, more of it 
should be a great deal better. Advertising is like 
food — it should be taken, not as an end in itself, 
but as a means to an end. Three meals a day three 
hundred and sixty-five days in the year is more 
economical and more valuable than alternate fasting 
and feasting. Too little starves and weakens; too 
much is a burden and does not allow the system to 
function properly. 

In the preceding chapter I indicated that adver- 
tising will start a business. It will also maintain a 
business. The weakness or strength of mail-order 
advertising is at once evident in the business itself, 
for advertising is its foundation. 

We see quite a different use of advertising when we 
consider the manufacturer selling to the exclusive 
dealer. Here advertising is the factor which amal- 
gamates the work of two distinct and strongly en- 
trenched forms of business. On the one hand is the 
retail merchant who values his personal reputation 

241 



242 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

and standing in the community in which he lives; 
on the other is the manufacturer proud of the quality 
of the merchandise he makes and appreciating keenly 
his responsibility to the consumer. 

The manufacturer does not care to have the 

identity of his goods lost in the average jobber's 

stock; the retailer does not want to put his 

An Ar- creative ability back of merchandise which 

Between can be supplied to his trade territory by any 

Manufac- f ^ competitors. 

Retailer The manufacturer approaches the mer- 
Be°nefitof cnan ^ and explains that he is looking for 
Both the same high quality of service in placing 
goods in the consumer's hands that he 
himself puts into their design and making. He 
knows that the retailer can take care of certain ele- 
ments of a complete service to the consumer better 
and more economically than he can. He must con- 
vince the retailer that he can maintain a high quality 
and make it possible for him (the retailer) to serve 
his community with the best at the least cost to the 
„, ,, consumer. 

The Manu- . 

facturers Cooperation of such sort cannot be 

tribute AM effected unless the manufacturer brings to 

Possible the merchant all the selling helps which are 

Selling . 

Help—the produced in a national way most econom- 
R 2ltildy i ca %> an d unless the retailer puts forth 
Push the the best effort of which he and his organi- 
zation are capable and takes advantage 
of the national selling helps that are given him. 



EXCLUSIVE DEALERS 243 

The manufacturer can afford space in national 
mediums which, in so far as they circulate in the 
retailer's territory, are most valuable local advertis- 
ing for him. The manufacturer's national adver- 
tising doubles the value of the dealer's local publicity 
if the dealer mentions in his local advertising the 
nationally advertised lines he carries exclusively. 

The manufacturer can afford to employ expert 
illustrators and the best copy writers, and supply 
the dealer with a complete retail advertising service, 
plates, or matrices ready for use in local newspapers, 
at a cost which would be prohibitive to the dealer. 
Booklets, window displays, and sales ideas are fur- 
nished him at the minimum expense. 

Unfortunately the exclusive dealer plan has been 

abused. Therefore many retailers hesitate to back 

an exclusive line with their own prestige 

Manufac- and hard work. They are often right in 

FaUfoGive ^ s stan d> ^ or some manufacturers have 

Proper used national advertising as a bluff, pure 
Assistance an d simple, to load dealers with their goods, 
to Retailers anc [ then have failed to give them the right 
kind of advertising help. This condition 
is particularly to be regretted, because it takes so 
little money to cover the United States in national 
mediums and so much can be done if the manufac- 
turer acts in good faith and advertises to arouse the 
interest of the consumer. 

There are a number of national appropriations 
of less than $100,000 a year each which include 



244 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

the use of national mediums and collateral adver- 
tising helps for the dealer. 

One hundred thousand dollars is only one 

Local dollar per thousand population, but it makes 

if States a wonderful showing in carefully selected 

to Connect publications of general circulation. Dealers 

National whose trade territory comprises 25,000 

Advertising peop \ e fi n( j j t profitable to spend from $25 

to $50 annually with local newspapers, to 

tie up with national advertising, and it is the most 

influential kind of local advertising they do in their 

trade territory. 

If the national advertiser furnishes definite sales 
suggestions, the dealer will buy the necessary addi- 
tional local advertising to work them out. Most 
dealers are committed to a certain amount of local 
newspaper space in any case, and since the exclusive 
sale of a high-class product is a trade-builder, and is 
profitable, it can be said truthfully that local ad- 
vertising which cooperates with national advertising 
more than doubles its own value. 

It is possible (it is being done every day) for 

national manufacturers to word advertisements in 

Dravrinq mea -iums of general circulation so that they 

Inquiries will bring direct mail replies. These letters 

National ar e the dealer's best weapon of defense 

Advertising against mail-order com;, c tition. They also 

to Local locate people who may be trading with his 

e rs competitors, and give him an excuse for 

paying them particular attention, in order to get 



EXCLUSIVE DEALERS U5 

them into his store and demonstrate the superiority 
of his service. 

Luckily there are scattered throughout the United 
States dealers who are as good judges of national 
advertising campaigns as they are of merchandise. 
And the manufacturer who makes a superior product 
and supplements it with a national advertising 
campaign which reflects the sincerity and honesty 
that goes into his merchandise will get the coopera- 
tion of intelligent dealers the minute his salesmen 
show them his national and local advertising plans. 

Selling goods to one dealer in a community appeals 
particularly to the manufacturer of high-grade mer- 
chandise. There are 559,000 families in 
OneDealer the United States having incomes of $6,000 

Appeals a year or more> Their trade is worth while. 

Particularly _J . 

to Manu- The progressive dealer makes a bid for it 
High-grade D y having the exclusive sale of high-grade, 
Mer- nationally advertised goods. They give 
him prestige and hold the trade of the 
wealthier families whose community pride makes 
them buy goods at home if the local dealer can give 
them the best quality. 

The exclusive dealer plan has been tried out by 
manufacturers of automobiles, pianos, fine silverware, 
paints, furniture, kitchen cabinets, stoves, candies, 
and shoes. Even in a small town one can pick out, 
by noting window displays and the contents of the 
shelves, the dealer who caters to the high-class maga- 
zine-reading group of the community. 



246 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The better magazines now refuse to carry the 
advertising of a manufacturer who seeks the coopera- 
tion of the local dealers, unless his national campaign 
is adequate and accurate, safe and conservative. 
How the ^is censorship is winning the confidence 
Magazines of better class dealers throughout Ehe coun- 
tecting the try, and gives manufacturers who have not 
Dealer by ve j. taken up national advertising assurance 

Censoring « , 

the of success when they do. 

ofthe 719 The only basis for successful exclusive 

Manufac- dealer distribution is cooperation between a 

high-class manufacturer and a high-class 

retailer, each doing to the best of his ability that 

which he is best fitted to perform. 

Advertising, which is the cementing factor of this 
relationship, often gets results much greater than the 
financial outlay would seem to warrant. It appears 
to develop power as a lever does. It brings out the 
latent force of both manufacturer and retailer as 
nothing else can. 

Certainly the retailer who has a choice between 

a fine line of goods made by a firm which does no 

The general advertising and a line equally good 

Advertising Dac k; e( i by a broad and skillfully executed 

Manufac- u . . * 

turer Gets plan of general advertising will not hesitate. 

t encewith But the man who makes a superior product 
Live Dealers an d supplements his service to the consumer 
by national advertising and sales- building coopera- 
tion with dealers cannot afford to identify himself 
with a second-rate dealer, or to allow his line to be 



EXCLUSIVE DEALERS 247 

sold by one who will not cooperate with him earnestly, 
vigorously, and honestly. 

It is noteworthy that people who read general mag- 
azines and do not find the goods advertised at any 
local dealer's are inclined to consider it a re- 
Handle° ^ ec ^ on upon the dealer rather than upon 
Advertised the manufacturer. 

Reflection Producers who advertise nationally 
I)aler snou ^ remain unrepresented in a com- 
munity rather than allow an incompetent 
or unsympathetic local representative to weaken 
their prestige and lower the standard of service which 
they have established. 

A cooperative arrangement is impossible if either 
manufacturer or retailer is doing business on a price 
basis. Unless service to the consumer, which is 
nothing less than permanent satisfaction, is the goal 
of both manufacturer and dealer, this form of mer- 
chandising must fail. 

It is not altogether necessary that the manufac- 
turer use national mediums. For certain territories 
he may use publications which cover them 

Advertising -, ■. , -r, * 

i n R e _ in a broad general way. i^or several years 
stncted a cer tain manufacturer selling almost ex- 

1 emtones . . . 

clusively to dealers located within the State 
of Iowa has used three agricultural papers which 
cover Iowa. Daily papers published at wholesale 
markets are as competent as national magazines to 
reach influential consumers and get the cooperation 
of local dealers within the territory which they cover. 



248 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

There are manufacturers who do no general adver- 
tising, but furnish the dealer with electrotypes, book- 
lets, mailing cards, form letters, posters, hangers, 
window displays, motion-picture slides, premiums, 
and novelties. A tailor-to-the-trade establishment 
Advertising wn ^ cn na< ^ built U P a large business in this 

Service way spent about $100,000 for devices of 

Furnished ,-, . -, . , , , n 

Dealers this kind and put on a campaign m nve 
ln var' e \ na ti° na l magazines, including a double- 
of Different spread in the Saturday Evening Post, with- 
1 s out increasing its total annual advertising 
expenditure. Mailing cards and form letters were 
largely replaced by national magazine publicity, 
because it sells both consumer and dealer. The net 
result was more consumer effect for the same money, 
and therefore more dealer cooperation. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XXIV 

The campaigns of national advertisers who dis- 
tribute through exclusive dealers are the best mate- 
rial for the student. Manufacturers who use this 
method of distribution and dealers who cooperate 
with them will undoubtedly furnish information in 
detail to any persons entitled to it. 

Each campaign is individual and distinct, and has 
solved its various problems in its own way. 

To copy the campaign of another would defeat 
your purpose. 

The creators of new ideas and new ways of dressing 
up the old story make very good money. 



CHAPTER XXV 

TRADEMARKS 

WE WANT to consider, first, what the trade- 
mark is worth to the consumer. 
I can think of no real reason why the con- 
sumer should prefer goods which do not bear a trade- 
mark. He sometimes has a notion that they cost 
less than goods of equal merit which are sold under a 
trademark. But that wrong notion has been bred by 
a certain wasteful kind of advertising effort which 
aimed to develop a bargain-seeking class of buyers. 

Merchandise without a trademark lacks backing. 
People who buy things because they are cheap or 
because they are so-called bargains are wasting their 
substance. The purchaser of a bargain assumes all 
responsibility for the quality of the merchandise. 
So many of us are willing to do this because we do not 
realize how little our judgment of value is worth. 

Most of us are qualified to judge the value of 

only the few lines of merchandise with which we have 

What Is had much experience. The highest-salaried 

Our men m large mercantile establishments are 

Judgment the buyers. Not until they have had years 

Worth Q £ se i|i n g experience are they entrusted 

with the responsibility of selecting from the mass 

249 



230 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

of mixed qualities that which is worthy. Much 
of the talk about the high cost of living is fathered 
by the flimsy, useless bargain which pleases for the 
moment but does not contribute at all to the comfort 
and satisfaction of the home. But the present-day 
consumer is beginning to demand utility in mer- 
chandise. 

Some retailers who will not handle goods bearing 
the manufacturer's trademark are sincere in this 
stand. They feel the responsibility of giv- 
°Between n m g to tne merchandise they sell the author- 
Manufac- ity of their own endorsement. This seems 
and Dealer to me one of the most encouraging features 
^oTstmer °^ m °dern business. It means that with 
the best retailers and the best manufac- 
turers, both animated by a high sense of responsibility 
to the consumer, a degree of intimate cooperation will 
be possible which the merchandising world has not yet 
known. And the consumer will benefit thereby. 

It has not yet occurred to most of us that a trade- 
mark adds to the value of merchandise. Persons 
who have declared that such was not the case have 
in the next breath admitted that the piano which they 
own would not be so valuable, even if they knew it 
to be the very same instrument, were the gold leaf 
which reproduces the trademark removed from it. 

The trademark fixes responsibility. The manu- 
facturer knows he must make good on the standard 
which he has established for his product, and the 
consumer actually enjoys more and derives a greater 



TRADEMARKS 251 

satisfaction from an article the fine points of which 
he has been educated to appreciate, an article from 
which he has been taught to extract the largest 
amount of usefulness. 

Trademarked goods, intelligently advertised, yield 
the manufacturer a larger return for his labor, and 
cost the consumer less money. 

Gtb(lLbt 

Profit to The maker of a competitive line of mer- 
Pr Lower T ' cnan dise must base his selling price on the 

Cost to cost of manufacture and distribution. 
This price is unstable. Its fluctuations de- 
pend upon the aggressiveness or lack of intelligence of 
his competitors. Under such circumstances, he can- 
not institute or maintain the economies which are 
possible when he can count on a stable price, no 
matter what his competitors may or may not do. 

Given a profit of 25 per cent, on the selling price, 
grocers are glad to push goods sold under a well- 
advertised trademark. On unadvertised lines they 
demand from 33| to 100 per cent. The difference 
represents the manufacturer's cost of advertising. 
Yet the article costs the consumer no more. 

Advertising, properly done, serves consumer, dealer, 
and manufacturer. It saves the consumer's time 
and adds to his satisfaction ; it multiplies the dealer's 
"turnover" and increases his profits, and gives the 
manufacturer a stable market with all the economies 
incident thereto which I have covered in Chapter II. 

The advantages to the manufacturer of putting a 
trademark on his goods are so obvious that I can 



252 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

think of no reason for his f ailing to do so except that 
he wishes to escape responsibility for them. By put- 
ting them out under a trade name he recognizes the 
principle that his individuality is the basis upon 
which he must build the largest possible influence 
with his fellowmen. 

Advertising a trademark and marketing goods un- 
der it give them stability. Stability means economy. 
It is not a physical or material quality, but 
Trademark a state of mind which is the result of satis- 

Means faction. 

Stability 

I nave said that a trademark on mer- 
chandise invests it with added value in the purchas- 
er's mind, because we associate trademarks with the 
creation and maintenance of quality standards. 

But the worth of the trademark to the manufac- 
turer lies in the fact that it serves as an anchor for all 
creative sales work which he has done in behalf 
of that product. A trademark is the tangible thing 
that enables the manufacturer to tie to each piece of 
merchandise that he makes or handles the prestige 
and confidence which his ability and integrity have 
won for him in the buyer's mind. 

Mr. Edward S. Rogers, a prominent trademark 
lawyer of Chicago, states that the right to a trade- 

Do Not mark does not depend upon invention, dis- 
Eide Your covery, or registration, but upon priority of 

Under a adoption and use upon goods, and upon 

Bushel continuous occupation of the market with 
goods bearing this mark. 



TRADEMARKS 253 

This statement is interesting in that it implies an 
obligation on the part of the owner of a trademark 
to be aggressive in salesmanship, to dominate the 
market. 

He dare not assume that, his trademark once es- 
tablished, he can rest on his oars. 

If he pushes his product constantly, he may be 
able, later on, to reduce the price to the consumer. 
He should do so if the resultant increase in volume 
would maintain the same net returns, even if it did 
not actually increase his profits. 

Henry Ford is a notable instance of a manufacturer 
serving his own best interests by giving to the con- 
sumer the benefit of all price reductions that dom- 
inance in his market enables him to make. 

The manufacturer who does not advertise cannot take 
business from the one who does. 
Backing ^ e ma y S et some business, temporarily, 

Up the by price-cutting to distributors who will, 

with for a larger margin, attempt to deliver to 
Advertising ki m business that has been created by the 
producer who advertises. But manufacturers and 
dealers who do this can never succeed unless the 
manufacturer who advertises is making his advertising 
support a higher price than the consumer ought to pay. 
Temporarily an advertising manufacturer may lose 
business through price-cutting of dealers as I have 
explained in Chapter XVIII. Fortunately proof is 
abundant that the merchant or manufacturer who 
possesses a franchise in the form of the good-will 



254 AD VERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

of the general public is stronger than any of the 
powers of pillage or thievery. 

Dealers and consumers have been educated to be- 
lieve that a lower price is a confession of inferiority, 
and that the cost of the trademark (apparently paid 
by the consumer) is so little that its elimination by 
the non-advertising manufacturer gives him no prac- 
tical advantage in the market. The consumer is not 
benefited by the extra sales cost or the inferior quality 
of unadvertised lines. 

If, however, a man takes up a line of business which 
has been established by a manufacturer using a trade- 
mark, and competes with him intelligently, 
Stronger the by advertising and straightforward sales 
Competition wor ] £> the competition is a distinct benefit 
the Benefit to the original manufacturer, the dealer, 

Tradt- and the consumer. 

marked The manufacturer who lets his competi- 

Product . , . . . . . „ 

tors make his prices loses his sense of re- 
sponsibility to his customers, and puts a premium on 
mediocrity, slovenliness, and carelessness. 

Legally the trademark must indicate with cer- 
tainty the commercial origin of the article to which it is 
affixed. The device or symbol has no value 
Th 2 s Le e g c f a P art fr° m tne business itself. The courts 
have ruled that a trademark cannot be sep- 
arated, for a price, from the business of which it is the 
visible sign. 

It is not necessary to register a trademark, but it 
is always advisable. 



TRADEMARKS 255 

In many foreign countries registration of the trade 
name gives the right of ownership to the one making 
the first registry. In the United States it is merely 
presumptive evidence. Title to the business and the 
right to use the trademark depend entirely upon pri- 
ority of use. 

The law of unfair competition has been the most 
valuable protection that users of trade names have 
had. It says that no one has the right to represent 
his goods to be the goods of another. 

The best trademark is an arbitrary or coined word 
which has no descriptive quality in connection with 
the goods to be sold under it. It should be of such 
character that it can mean one thing and nothing else, 
both legally and practically. It is quite easy to in- 
vent a word which is easily pronounced, but does not 
appear in the dictionary, with a meaning which be- 
longs altogether to the goods on which it is placed. 
It is wiser not to advertise anything like "Michigan" 
celery, or "Minnesota" flour, as these are generic, 
descriptive terms and could be adopted by any one 
who wants to enter the same field. 

Before deciding upon a trademark it is best to get 
expert legal assistance. There are many names in 
which no exclusive right can be secured because they 
are descriptive, or are otherwise legally objectionable, 
or cannot be protected because they have been pre- 
empted. 

Several large advertising campaigns have been 
held up, after they were launched, because it was dis- 



256 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

covered that some obscure manufacturer doing a 
small local business had prior right to the use of the 
name which had been selected for a trademark. 

One of the most valuable elements of the service of 
a national advertising organization is its ability to 
devise effective trademarks. Years of experience 
with trademarks have taught them where the shoals 
are which threaten the manufacturer who contem- 
plates adopting a trade name and marketing his 
wares under it. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XXV 

"Good Will, Trade Marks, and Unfair Trading," 
by Edward S. Rogers (A. W. Shaw Company, 1914, 
Chicago), is a most interesting and exhaustive pres- 
entation of the whole subject. 

"Trademarks and Their Advertising," 1913, by 
Charles G. Phillips, president of the Dry Goods Econ- 
omist, 231 West Thirty-ninth Street, New York 
City, is a two-thousand word monograph crystalliz- 
ing the experience and convictions of one of our fore- 
most trade-paper publishers. Mr. Phillips will send 
a copy to any reader of this book who requests it. 

For additional reading on trademarks, I refer the 
student to the following treatises: 

"Sebastian on Trade Marks," "Paul on Trade 
Marks," "Hopkins on Trade Marks," and "Nins' 
Unfair Business Competition." 



CHAPTER XXVI 

PRESTIGE-BUILDING ADVERTISING 

EXPERT salesmen agree that their work must 
be authoritative, i. e., it must lead the buyer 
to accept their judgment as to what he had 
better buy, instead of following his own bent. A 
The capable salesman knows more about the 
Salesman's goods he sells than any buyer can possibly 
Establish- know. Of course he must also be able to 
mg Prestige proc [ uce [ n the buyer that mental attitude 
which will afford him the greatest possible utility and 
satisfaction in his purchase. 

I have said before that the salesman who wishes 
to establish his position as an authority on his par- 
ticular line must not let his aim be too apparent, lest 
the buyer resent it. His prestige must be an out- 
growth of the buyer's satisfaction with the goods which 
he is accustomed to purchase on his recommendation. 
The most satisfactory customers are those who think 
they buy, not those who know they have been sold. 

Prestige is that quality which causes others to 
accept one's statements without question. It is the 
crystallization of earnest, faithful work on the part of 
the producer of the goods, in realizing the best quality 

£57 



258 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

for a given purpose and then impressing upon the 
mind of the purchaser all the possibilities of usefulness 

„ . which the merchandise will possess for him 

—the when it passes into his hands. 
l rf%wmy Advertising builds prestige for the manu- 

Without facturer and good- will for all his products. 
Prestige is not inherent in an article, but 
is what people believe about it, what people say about 
it, and to whom they say it. 

The prestige of the political leader is gained by 

confidently affirming and by continually emphasizing 

to the group which looks to him as its leader 

Reiteration t n &t he possesses certain qualities. He may 

Gains have them in common with raany other per- 
sons, but the group does not realize that, be- 
cause he is advertised, and the others are not. 

Politicians know very well that what is said about 
them and the manner of saying it measurably affect 
the amount of influence they have with their camp 
followers. Both praise and condemnation may add 
to prestige; but no man can be laughed at and hold 
a loyal following. 

We are respected as much for the enemies we make 
as for our friends. No one who needs the support of 

Prestige the public dare neglect the manner in which 
Depends as -j-]^ s tory of his achievements, his move- 

Much on \ . . . . _ ' 

the Manner ments, his opinions, and his ideas on certain 
Matter of subjects is to be told to those whose appro- 
Your Story bation he would win. 
In many instances public service corporations 



PRESTIGE-BUILDING ADVERTISING 259 

that are giving real service are unpopular because 
their officials have overlooked the fact that prestige 
can be gained by telling a story scientifically, i. e., 
an interesting and informative story which will, at the 
same time, create that apparently intangible but none 
the less real factor which is called "favorable public 
opinion." 

So often we have misunderstood the motives of pub- 
lic men who were discharging their duties faithfully. 
We have regarded their refusal to talk about 

Price of their work as proof that they were dishonest. 
i ence g uc j 1 a situation has usually been due to their 
misconception of what is true publicity. 

Many who were severely criticised while they lived 
have a high place in history, because the publicity 
given them by the historian has accomplished after 
death what a well-trained advertising man could have 
done when it would have been worth while. 

Those who knew intimately and came into per- 
sonal contact with Mr. Taft while he was President 
A Pointed of the United States were sure of his sin- 
instance cer jty and his keen appreciation of his 
responsibilities. 

Mr. Taft is not our President now because he did 
not understand that it is not so much what one does 
as it is what is said about what one does that adds to or 
takes from prestige. 

Some day some writer of history will find, perhaps 
in Mr. Taft's personal correspondence, or in the 
private papers of men who were close to him, proof 



260 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

that he possessed qualities that would have gained 
abundant prestige for him during his term of office 
had we all been told about them in a simple, straight- 
forward, understandable way. Such a prestige might 
have been produced, I believe, that Mr. Roosevelt 
would not have risked opposing him. 

By neglecting to control the manner in which the 
story of his work was told, Mr. Taft deprived himself 
of the prestige to which his work judged alone gave 
him clear title. 

Much of the present-day prestige of the dis- 
tinguished men of the past they owe to the men 
who recounted the tale of their deeds. 
Masters Many of the master artists of all time have 
Made New lived and died poverty-stricken, because 
Master no contemporaneous historian interpreted 
Publicity their work so that their fellowmen could 
understand and appreciate it. Nor would 
most of us value these masterpieces to-day did not 
art dealers and collectors, by one means or another, 
constantly keep up our interest in them and direct 
our attention to points of excellence which must oth- 
erwise have escaped us altogether. 

The man who is to profit by whatever prestige may 

legitimately attach to his achievements needs some 

The one to tell his story for him. Unless in- 

hdiding deed he chance to be one of those few for- 

Story and tunate men who are able both to do and to 

the Telling . 

of It get the rest of us to appreciate what 
they do. It might be remarked in passing that 



PRESTIGE-BUILDING ADVERTISING 261 

the man or woman who knows how to teach the many 
to value his or her talent often gets a larger share of 
honor and glory than the public thinks is due. It is 
just at this point that most of us fail to reason ac- 
curately. 

Doctor Cook had ample publicity, but it won no 

prestige for him, because he gave us something which 

„ , f . . A fell far short of what his publicity had led 

Publicity Ti i 

Without us to expect of him. Each year new names 
shge and faces appear above the horizon which 
separates the "unheard of" from those who have 
"arrived" — and disappear; because they could not 
"make good" on their publicity, or sustain the pres- 
tige which it would have created for them. There 
can be no permanent prestige unless the story fits the 
facts. 

Many will contend that there are more far-seeing 
statesmen than Theodore Roosevelt, that there are 

, r . , actresses whose work is truer than Sarah 

Masters of 

Prestige- Bernhardt's has been, that Mary Garden 
%ng cannot sing; but the fact is that large 
groups of people believe in each of them, and evidence 
that belief by continuing to give them their support. 
That is proof absolute that they "make good" on 
their publicity. 

It is only when the publicity has overstated or has 
been more liberally interpreted than it should have 
been that a sense of disappointment has resulted in 
connection with any one of those geniuses who 
possess so bountifully the knack of telling the story 



262 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

of what they do in just the way which insures them 
maximum public appreciation. 

The reflex of using a trademark is to create a sense 

of responsibility which forces the manufacturer to 

maintain a high quality standard. The 

Penalty— same thing is true of publicity. The manu- 

Gfoli" f ac turer who advertises that his goods 

^ represent a certain well-defined standard 

has practically discounted his note of hand with the 

public. He has to make good. 

Sometimes a manufacturer takes up general ad- 
vertising because he thinks he will make more money 
that way, and for that reason only. As 

Advertising . .. . . , . . , 

Makes the soon as he realizes that the advertising has 
Uvtotie comm itted him to maintaining a certain 

Prestige standard with the public, he bestirs himself 
to improve his inside organization. Better 
merchandise is the result. The consumer gets the 
benefit. 

Other manufacturers have decided, after investi- 
gating the power of general publicity, to improve the 
quality of their merchandise before undertaking a gen- 
eral campaign. 

I know a man who considered the pros and cons 
a long while before he made up his mind to advertise. 
He knew that if he started it he would have to keep 
up the quality, no matter what the raw materials 
cost. And he was afraid he might not be able to 
increase the price to cover such a rise. That man is 
a national advertiser now. He found out that the 



PRESTXGE-BUILDDTC ADVERTXSMG 263 

confidence of the public (which advertising gets for 
him) is the best means of adjusting prices to the 
market conditions of raw materials. 

Some years ago another manufacturer had to face 

a decided rise in the price of his raw material. His 

salesmen gave him to understand they 

Rise in could not sell goods at the price necessary to 

Price Butit cover this advance if the quality was not 

to be changed. He was tempted to use an 

inferior raw material, or to cancel his advertising for 

the year. 

Instead, he went to the consumer and the dealer 
and explained that in order to keep up his quality 
he was obliged to increase the price. By inference he 
created the impression that competitors who did not 
do likewise must be using a poorer quality of raw 
material. This publicity strengthened the bonds of 
confidence between his brand and dealers and con- 
sumers; he increased his advertising appropriation, 
and the net result was the best year he ever had. 
In planning a campaign the advertiser should re- 
member that it can build for him, if he co- 
BringTthe operates with it, a prestige which will give 
Deriding j^ j-j^ balance of power when buyers 

hesitate. 
Certainly an advertiser who shows by his man- 
ner of conducting his business that he values the 
quality of its prestige more readily gets the co- 
operation of publishers who believe that admis- 
sion to their columns bestows upon the advertiser 



264 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

the prestige which the publication has with its 
readers. 

An advertiser who wins first the confidence and 
support of the leaders of the group to which he wishes 
to sell is wise. He is realizing on their prestige, which, 
it will readily be admitted, is a force quite separate 

^ ., T . from the inherent value of the merchandise 

Builu/ing 

Prestige on he offers or the salesmanship he uses in pre- 
Prestige sentingit. 

Advertising mediums confer prestige upon the ad- 
vertiser who uses them in exact proportion to the 
reader's confidence in its advertising pages. 

The advertising of one firm has more prestige than 
that of another for exactly the same reason. 

Prestige rests upon confidence, and confidence is 
won by plausible publicity, the foundation of which 
is the sincere desire to always give satisfaction. 
The creation of prestige should be the aim of every 
advertiser. It means conservation of power and 
elimination of waste. 

There is a certain kind of salesmanship which finds 
a market among those who positively enjoy possess- 
ing things which their less fortunate neigh- 
Prestige is bors have not the means to buy. Dealers 

Substantial . .. n -j . •, .-i . 

—Not Built m antiques, small exclusive shops that are 
& UV bVh su PP ose d to be patronized only by the 
ness socially elect, freak restaurants and sum- 
mer and winter resorts often get business 
by an appeal to snobbishness. 

This might be mistaken for prestige-building. It 



PRESTIGE-BUILDING ADVERTISING 205 

is not. Fashions, fads, and fancies come and go con- 
stantly. The man who elects to make a living by 
catering to them leads a precarious existence. 

Of course there are many people who need not con- 
sider the cost of gratifying a desire. They are willing 
to pay for the pleasure of dealing with per- 
PHce of sons of refinement and culture. They are 
Confi ence w ^ m g j- Q p av f or Jc now i n g they are not 

going to be thrown in contact with objectionable 
persons. They are willing to pay for their confidence 
in the merchandise they buy, although they may not 
be conscious that they are paying so much for mer- 
chandise and so much for confidence. 

The practice of institutions which have been es- 
tablished by the use of prestige-building salesman- 
ship and advertising is to reduce their prices to a 
point where no customer need pay more than he 
would elsewhere for the same service. Then the 
prestige of the business, which undoubtedly is an 
element of the purchaser's satisfaction, is service 
plus. 

No business is safe which charges more, simply be- 
cause its customers will pay more. Prestige is busi- 
ness life insurance. 
of Cards ^ ne P atrons oi certain dealers in musical 
instruments, jewelry, and art objects, and 
of certain tailoring and dressmaking establishments, 
insist they get full value for every dollar they spend, 
quite apart from the question of the prestige of the 
house from which they are buying. Competitors 



266 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

have their groups of customers who are equally sure 
that they get full value in the merchandise of stores 
which sell lower-priced lines. 

When does a customer pay for prestige and when 
does he get it as an additional satisfaction? It is the 
old story, "How can you tell the difference between 
a mushroom and a toadstool?" 

When the consumer believes a lower price com- 
mands equal quality and satisfaction, prestige no 
longer exists and the manufacturer or retailer who 
counts on it is in a dangerous position. 

A waiting-list would seem to be the only positive 
insurance which a business that depends altogether 
upon prestige alone may have. 

%aysT The dividing line between the house 

p 4 ? air wn * cn charges for prestige and the house 

Divides which gives full value in service cannot be 
mid True" determined by consulting the customers of 
either or both houses, for there will be 
radical differences of opinion. 

W T hen a lawyer has more possible clients than he 
can take care of, when a physician's reception-room is 
crowded with people waiting their turn, when motor 
cars have to be ordered several months in advance, 
it may be assumed that the high price is justified by 
the service. 

But that business is doomed whose customers, 
having ample means to pay the highest prices, go else- 
where believing they are getting the same value for 
less money. And the management usually wakes up 



PRESTIGE-BUILDING ADVERTISING £67 

too late to reestablish the business on a sound service 
basis. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XXVI 

Lord Rosebery's "Napoleon, the Last Phase," 
1900 (Harper & Brothers, New York), detailing 
Napoleon's life after he reached St. Helena. 

"The Greatness and Decline of Rome," 1907-1909 
(W. Heinemann, London), by Guglielmo Ferrero. 

William Hickling Prescott's "The Conquest of 
Mexico," 1909 (E. P. Dutton & Company, New 
York). 

These books are as fascinating as modern fiction: 
they tell of men who believed in and attempted to 
create prestige for themselves. 

They trace clearly the effect of ideas dominating 
the group consciousness in the history of nations. 

They show how real leaders of men have always 
striven to sway the minds and especially the emotions 
of the people whose confidence gave them their 
power. 

They show how prestige passes and with it the 
power of leadership though all its inherent qualities 
may remain in the man who formerly was a popular 
idol. 

They show clearly the difficulty of the historian in 
separating fiction and fact, because leaders of people 
have always been more concerned as to how the story 
of what they were doing was told the people than 
in the story itself. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

CAN THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF GOOD-WILL BE AC- 
CURATELY APPRAISED? 

WALTER M. ANTHONY, Comptroller of 
the Maxwell Company, once remarked to 
me, "Anything for which cash has been 
should be immediately converted into cash or given 
at least the same care and attention as cash. 

This thought will yield wonderfully profitable 
results if applied to printed matter, office and manu- 
facturing equipment, or anything else which appears 
on an inventory. 

Whether printed matter should be sold as waste 

paper or whether the second-hand man should have 

antiquated pieces of office furniture or the 

Appraisal junk dealer should own obsolete machinery 

lvalue re< l u i res constant appraisal. Money in the 

Good-mil bank and cash in the drawer receive such 

Properly . 

attention. 

Manufacturers and retailers rightfully class "good- 
will" as an asset. My readers will agree with me 
that unless "good- will" is conserved it will dis- 
appear. 

There are forces in every business which build 



VALUE OF GOOD-WILL BE APPRAISED? 269 

"good- will." Dependable methods of appraising it 
should be devised. 

There should be frequent inventories to determine 
the enhancement or the depreciation of "good- 
will." 

My first conception of what is termed "good- will," 
as attached to a business, came to me in considering 
the story of two young men who were partners in a 
lumber yard in a Western city. 

They were successful. In the course of a few 

years they made enough money to build and pay 

for a modern, completely equipped fac- 

The New tory where they made sash, doors, and other 

Factory »n i 

Did Not mi11 work - 

Possess Not long after the new factory was 

the Good- n . , \r " 

will of mushed differences arose and the partner- 
iumbei sm P was dissolved. In dividing the property 
Yard one took as his share the up-to-date fac- 
tory — and thought that he had outwitted 
his former partner, who was content to take as his 
portion the old lumber yard, which was equipped with 
only a few old sheds and a little frame office. A few 
dollars would replace them. 

Time proved that the man who kept the lumber 

yard was also in possession of their market. Farmers 

Customers wno na d been buying lumber there, now 

^° M>* and then, kept coming back occasionally 

Things Are with their wagons, made purchases, and 

de took them away. Intervals of seven years 

elapsed between purchases. 



270 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

These customers knew nothing about the new 
faetory— they really did not know nor care where the 
doors, window sash, porch columns^ fencing, and 
railings were made. 

The man who kept the factory had to find a 
new market. Even his former partner found it 
did not pay to look to him for a supply of mill 
work, as the very same things could often be bought 
in Oshkosh and delivered in Kansas City for less 
money. 

By this story I wish to make it plain that good- will 
is primarily the result of giving customers satisfac- 
tory service, and that advertising cannot be a factor 
in creating good-will unless the service given cus- 
tomers measures up to the expectation which the 
advertising has created. 

So far as I know these two young men had done no 

advertising worthy of the name, but they had given 

„ , .„ their customers real service, and as a tang- 

Qood-wtll ° 

Is Attached ible result oi doing that, the market was 
t0 Which attached to the place where the service 
identifies nac l been rendered. 

Had they advertised they would have 
developed a larger good- will value. There can be no 
doubt that long before the first sale is consummated, 
advertising develops in the mind of the prospective 
purchacer a preference which is in every respect 
equivalent to the good-will which is the result of 
satisfaction in a purchase. 

The advertising of automobiles makes people 



VALUE OF GOOD-WILL BE APPRAISED? 271 

want to own one. It is astonishing how often a 
definite preference for a particular automobile exists 
in the mind of a man who has never owned any kind 
of a car. 

Conceding this you will agree with me I am sure 
that all advertising should be planned with two 
clearly defined purposes in mind: 

1. To influence the largest possible num- 

Clearly ber of immediate sales, always remember- 

%fiecu * R & ^at the sale takes place in the buyer's 

for All mind, and that very often merchandise is 
practically sold many months before the 
buyer comes to the dealer, ready to pay for and take 
away the merchandise. 

2. To create in possible purchasers' minds and in 
the minds of those whose opinion might affect the 
mental attitude of a possible purchaser the most 
favorable impression of the intrinsic merit of the 
article being advertised. Many rich people buy 
things which they believe people of culture and re- 
finement would buy if they had the means to gratify 
all their wishes. 

Therefore it is often advisable, in advertising 
luxuries which can be afforded only by the few, also 
to impress favorably those who would buy them if 
they could, because their esteem of the merchandise 
is an important factor in the satisfaction which the 
possessor of the luxury takes in it. 

In Chapter VI, I said that by having a merchan- 
dising audit made of the state of mind of possible 



<m ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

consumers and those distributors who influence 

the consumers' opinions, a manufacturer can de- 

AMer- termine in advance his marketing possi- 

fandising bllities. 

Audit Will tit 

Reveal In exactly the same way the manufac- 
pZsibili- turer can from time to time accurately 
ties appraise the value of the good-will which 
attaches to his merchandise. 

Neither the salesman nor the writer and illustrator 
is the best type of mind to undertake the task of ap- 
praisal. The salesman is too apt to look 
»,, for facts which will fit in with his own pre- 
Engineer conceived notion of what the facts are; the 
ant Prefer- writer and the artist are too prone to give 
able to to the f acts a new turn which alters their 

Salesman . . . , n 

or Copy commercial significance. 

W Makinq ^ * s tne man wno nas Deen trained as an 

Merchandis- accountant or as an engineer who can most 

%ng ' accurately determine the present value of 

good- will. 

Granting that good- will is the result of advertising, 

there must be a method of determining just what 

How a portion of the good- will which attaches to 

Merchan- every successful business has been pro- 

dismg Audit ■,-,■,. , . . T , 

Should Be duced by its advertising. I recommend 
Made ^ f u owm g procedure: 

1. Base your calculations upon the amount spent 
for advertising within the last three years. 

2. Measure the space which has been given to the 
promotion of each selling point or service idea. 



VALUE OF GOOD-WILL BE APPRAISED? 273 

3. If 5 per cent, of the total amount of space 
bought has been devoted to one point, and one-tenth 
of one per cent, to another, the first point should be 
fifty times as well grounded in the minds of consumers 
and those who influence them, if the advertising has 
been as effective as it must be before it can create 
the maximum good-will. 

We often find, in canvassing groups of consumers 
and distributors, that the point on which only one- 
tenth of one per. cent of an advertising appropriation 
has been spent has been the determining factor in a 
large percentage of the sales. 

Sometimes, too, we find that neither the consumer 
nor the distributor ever mentions a point on which as 
much as 5 per cent, of the appropriation has been spent. 

In the first case, our one-tenth of one per cent, is 
still a tangible asset, an investment in every sense 
of the word, because of its good- will value; in the 
second case we are safe in assuming that this money 
has produced no sales and created no good- will. 

The groups of distributors and consumers which 

are canvassed must be large enough to be representa- 

_ tive of the entire group but small enough 

Uve to permit of most thorough appraisal. 

of People Insurance actuaries constantly prove 

Must Be that what will happen to a thousand men 

of the same age and in normal physical 

condition will happen to the entire group of all such 

men, and in the same degree. 

An appraisal of good- will can be made safely on the 



274 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

same basis. When the effects of magazine advertis- 
ing are studied, it is astonishing how similar are the 
results in the minds of consumers and dealers in 
California, Texas, and New England. 

There are other factors which must be considered in 
appraising the results of advertising. It is very good 
Chart business to ignore your competitor in your 
Your own advertising, but it is very unwise to 
°tors yl ~ fail to take into account the effect of his 
Mverhstng advertising in making your own plans. 
Advertise When you are auditing your own adver- 
m tising, that of your competitors should also 
be charted, as well as its effect on the minds of con- 
sumers and distributors. 

In making an appraisal we are often very greatly 
surprised to find that what had seemed only a minor 
point has had a far-reaching influence. 

The average human mind seems distinctly averse 

to making its own decisions. When competitive 

The advertisers all make the same claims, 

Wonderful thereby convincing the consumer of the 

Minor^ equality of the value of the competing 

AdvertU- merchandise, a comparatively minor point 

in s often swings the decision, because it is the 

only apparent difference between them. 

I should like to see bankers, comptrollers, auditors, 
and, in general, all men who deal constantly with 
statistics so interested in advertising that they would 
apply to the furtherance of its development their 
experience and technical skill. 



VALUE OF GOOD-WILL BE APPRAISED? 275 

Several organizations could specialize, profitably* 
in the preparation of merchandise audits. I am sure 
that bankers, who are frequently asked to loan 
money on good-will, would welcome an opportunity 
to review an appraisal which had been made in the 
manner suggested here. 

It may be objected that in the foregoing I am 
only emphasizing the value of accurate accounting 
methods in everyday business. That is precisely 
what I wish to do. 

No element of successful advertising is more im- 
portant than a system of accounting which records 
all transactions accurately, so that the totals show 
unmistakably the trend of the business. 

Advertising is creative and constructive, and 
largely a matter of spontaneous expression — the best 
reason in the world for determining exactly the 
strength and competency of it as a productive force, 
and the positive value of each separate factor of it. 

Accounting is not a matter of books, cards, blanks, 

and specific forms. It is keeping track of the details 

of advertising all the time, so that they 

c °That' ng ma y De considered in the aggregate fre- 
Provides quently and intelligent deduction made. 
Basis for There is a good deal of red tape about 
D^ductiom m °dern accounting. Some of it is value- 
less, but much can be accomplished if a 
proper system is used. The cumulative figures will 
be full of meaning. 

I have often said that my most valuable business 



276 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

experience was that gained by the installation of an 
accounting system in our business some years ago, 
coupled with the process of emancipating ourselves 
from the system by putting into practice the prin- 
ciples which supported it. We all got a thorough 
grounding in the essentials of accounting. 

Frequently I have been appalled at the inadequate 
knowledge upon which a prospective advertiser was 

Proper basing his conclusions. So often overhead 
Distribu- expense is not properly distributed in figur- 

hon of . x . •11 

Overhead mg costs. In the one case a particularly 

Expense profitable transaction may be made to bear 
far more than its share of general expense; in another 
case a positively unprofitable item, which appears 
to be making money, is continued — because it 
has been charged with its rightful portion of over- 
head. 

It is my conviction that each department of a re- 
tail establishment should be charged directly with 
every line of publicity for which it has been respon- 
sible and from which it is to profit, and that "general 
publicity" or "cumulative results" should be "vel- 
vet" or a plus commodity. 

Advertising that has for its purpose general public- 
ity is usually purposeless publicity. Even if it does 
accomplish what it is expected to do, it is only half 
as valuable as it should be; for the same results 
would have been had, at no cost whatever, had this 
publicity been charged to and paid for by the proper 
department. 



VALUE OF GOOD-WILL BE APPRAISED? 277 

A simple, accurate system of accounting, to check 

up results, is necessary to "make advertising pay." 

If a salesman is able to reduce his per- 

U^Residts centage of unproductive calls by talking 

Should Be fa e advertising of his house in addition 

Made Easy ° 

to the worth of the goods, or if he is able to 
increase the amount of his average sale, his reports 
should show it. All salesmen's reports should be 
tabulated, so that the sales manager can plan intel- 
ligently for the future. Such a method does not 
mean harder work for the salesman, mentally or 
physically; but he accomplishes more, is worth more. 
He is entitled to know of his increased value and to 
receive a fair share of the profits of his cooperative 
work. 

Every accounting system should be able to give 

the executive head of the business all he wants to 

know, whenever he wants to know it, and 

Executive m sucn condensed form that a comparison 

Should Be or an analysis will be simple. 

Know Nothing impresses a banker more than 

Anything an exact system of accounting. To most 
to Know at bankers advertising is more or less of a 
Notice S mystery. The manufacturer must estab- 
lish in his banker's mind something be- 
sides the fact that he is advertising; he must convince 
him that he knows how to use advertising so that it 
will get results. 

When you call on your banker for a loan, there is 
just one kind of advertising that he will look favor- 



278 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

ably upon — the kind that has been so accurately 
recorded by a comprehensive accounting system that 
you can prove to him that it has accomplished what 
it set out to do. 

Successful advertising is the active employment of 

many factors properly balanced with relation to each 

c , , other, inter-related, one to another, so that 

Successful . . 

Advertising their movements coordinate without waste 
e M e or f r i c tion in carrying out plans capable 
of varying to meet an emergency situation but bear- 
ing directly toward a fixed goal. If I have made this 
point clear, the importance of careful, comprehensive 
accounting, up to the minute at all times, is obvious. 

Advertising is many sided — it builds and conserves 
business, it reduces expense, it strengthens credit, 
it eliminates waste, it puts a business on a rock 
foundation as immune as is possible from competi- 
tion. Facts and figures with reference to it cannot 
be too carefully gathered and recorded. 

There are no hard and fast rules for determining 
how much should be spent for advertising, or how 
much for salesmanship. 

I can only repeat that price is never a measure of 
value. It only measures the pccketbook's relation 
to the intensity of desires which have been created 
by personal salesmanship and advertising. Practi- 
cally every one has more wants llian he can supply 
with his " free dollars." Lowering the price broadens 
the market; raising it, contracts the market. Many 
people who have unlimited means gladly pay for 



VALUE OF GOOD-WILL BE APPRAISED? 279 

exclusiveness and distinction. Price never can deter- 
mine or measure intrinsic value. 

A five-dollar safety razor leads the market against 
a competitor which sells as low as twenty-five cents. 
How is it done? 

The manufacturer put his price high enough, at 
the start, to provide him with a margin of safety. 
Then he has had to determine, by accounting such as 
I have outlined in this chapter, whether the market 
shall be widened and competition discouraged by 
reducing the price and making on volume, or if he 
shall keep up the price and give his goods the added 
value of exclusiveness. 

REFERENCES ON CHAPTER XXVII 

There is a lack of good elementary works on the 
subject of accounting. There are plenty of texts 
used in the high schools and in the business colleges. 
"Modern Illustrative Bookkeeping," published by the 
American Book Co., is among the best of these. 

Twenty -five years ago I read "Goodwin's Im- 
proved Bookkeeping and Business Manual," pub- 
lished by J. H. Goodwin, 1215 Broadway, New York 
City. It seemed to me then to expound the funda- 
mental principles of accounting better than anything 
I have been able to get hold of. Recently I asked 
George F. Watt, president of the Elliot-Fisher Com- 
pany, Harrisburg, Pa., maker of the Bookkeeping 
Machine, about this book, which has been rewritten 
and brought up to date. Mr. Watt told me that 



280 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

when he was vice-president of the Baker- Vawter 
Company he inaugurated the policy of giving a copy 
of this book to each new salesman, to make sure that 
he thoroughly comprehended the basic principles of 
accounting. 

The Baker- Vawter Company, Benton Harbor, 
Mich., and the Burroughs Adding Machine Co., of 
Detroit, Mich., issue booklets emphasizing the broad 
scope and value in creative work of modern account- 
ing methods. Successful Banking — one of the Baker- 
Vawter house organs — will enable the thinking, pro- 
gressive accountant to keep strictly up to date. 

"Works Administration/' a twenty-eight page 
booklet of Gunn, Richards & Company, New York 
City, is a model piece of advertising matter for a 
professional house, as well as an exposition of ac- 
counting principles. 

"Accounts — Their Construction and Interpreta- 
tion — for Business Men and Students of Affairs," by 
William Morse Cole, A.M., Assistant Professor of 
Accounting in Harvard University (Houghton Mif- 
flin Company, Boston), is an authoritative presenta- 
tion of modern accounting in its scientific aspects. 

The Ronald Press, New York, publishes "Applied 
Theory of Accounts," by P. J. Esquerre, C. P. A., 
which connects theory and practice for the man who 
wants to understand thoroughly the principles of 
accounting and how to apply them to practical 
problems. It first explains the features of partner- 
ship and corporate organization the accountant 



VALUE OF GOOD-WILL BE APPRAISED? 281 

should understand; the general theory of accounting; 
the single, double, triple, and quadruple entry sys- 
tems; the form and anatomy of each of the financial 
books; the theory of controlling accounts, and the 
classification of accounts. The handling of each 
individual asset account and liability account is then 
taken up in detail, giving the "why" of each step, 
and finally the preparation of the different forms of 
balance sheets, the profit and loss account, statement 
of affairs, statement of realization and liquidation, 
etc., are explained in full. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE ADVERTISING AGENCY 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S mother-in-law 
objected to him before he married her 
daughter because the business in which he 
was engaged was overdone — he was publishing a 
newspaper, and there were already six in America! 
Now there are 2,600 dailies, 15,097 weeklies, 
2,491 monthlies, and 1,953 publications of various 
other kinds. Practically all of them sell advertising 
space. 

The business of planning, preparing, placing, and 
checking copy, and buying and paying for adver- 
tising space involves an infinite amount of detail and 
a wide range of talent. 

Nearly all retail stores buy space direct from the 
publisher, who may be represented by one or more 
advertising solicitors. It all depends upon the size 
of the field. In large establishments the advertising 
manager may write the copy. The owner of the 
store may attempt it. He may use copy writers 
proffered him by the publisher, or he may employ 
a "free lance" copy writer, who will, of course, have 
a number of other customers. 



THE ADVERTISING AGENCY 28S 

A mail-order house generally buys space through an 
agency. It either has its own copy men, or uses 
those assigned to it by the agency. 

Foreign advertising is the local publisher's term 
for out-of-the-city advertising. The national or 
"foreign" advertiser usually places his business 
through an agency. These agencies furnish a service 
which varies greatly in scope and character. The 
successful advertiser must supplement in his own 
organization the service he needs but does not get 
from the agency. 

To fully appreciate the progress the advertising 
agency has made read George P. Ro well's "Forty 
Th E I ^ears an Advertising Agent," which tells 
Days of the of the early days when an agency was 
gency merely an office having a file of publishers' 
rate cards, files for papers, and a shipping depart- 
ment. The agent sold space at publishers' rates, 
forwarded the copy to the publisher, collected from 
the advertiser, and remitted to the publisher the 
proceeds less his commission. It was a valuable 
service then. Newspaper circulation and values 
were hard to get at. It was a service for publisher 
and advertiser. 

In time, however, competition arrived. Publishers 
increased their commissions, and their rates had to 
go up accordingly. As publishers did not limit the 
number of representatives they might have, the num- 
ber of agents increased rapidly, and their competition 
gave rise to many bad practices. 



284 ADVERTISING—SELLING THE CONSUMER 

Commissions were split. The agent, sometimes 

honestly and sometimes not, adjusted his service to 

the compensation, accepting a lump sum 

of Split for a list of publications, but making as 

^ionTlnd mucn as possible out of the publisher by 

"Agents' short payments, refusing to allow for al- 

Net Rates" . . 

leged incorrect insertions and short meas- 
urements, and by payment in type, printers' rollers, 
and other kinds of merchandise instead of cash. 
This was "playing the game." 

Then came the era of the agent who took business 
at a certain percentage over net, and "agents' net 
rates" were commonly interpreted as the pub- 
lisher's rate card less his regular agent's commission. 
The customer was billed at this rate plus 10 to 15 
per cent, previously agreed upon. And the agent 
felt he was justified in keeping anything else he could 
get from the publisher. 

This system irritated the publisher, who still had 
his troubles with short measurements, incorrect in- 
sertions not allowed for, and various other expensive 
deductions which so harassed him that he had no 
time to consider how he could best serve the adver- 
tiser. It kept him quite busy making sure he would 
get the money his orders indicated was due him. 

Then came the epoch of agents who, realizing the 

The Lowest value of the publisher's good-will and 

Secufedthe cooperation, specialized on some certain 

Business class of advertising, and got inside special 

rates from the publication most logically suited to carry 



THE ADVERTISING AGENCY 285 

it. This made it possible for him to underbid 
competitors when they were called in against him, 
and to make a very long profit when he had no com- 
petition. This practice further demoralized the ad- 
vertising business. There was so much juggling of 
rates that strong publications employed special rep- 
resentatives, who saw to it that advertisers were 
informed of their circulation, prestige, and other 
good points, and made sure that their papers ap- 
peared on competitive lists. 

The special agency idea was abused by a number 
of men who bought outright all the space in a group 
of papers, and then increased the rates. Or, because 
they had a few strong papers on their list, would in- 
duce the advertiser or his agent to take on the whole 
list by making apparent but not actual price con- 
cessions. 

The fact that the advertising agency has survived 
all these schemes and questionable practices is a sin- 
cere tribute to the inherent power of advertising to 
make good, even when the odds are against it. It 
is also a tribute to the integrity and constructive 
ability of the men engaged in the business to-day. 
In spite of the fact that at times both agent and pub- 
lisher have been doing business with the advertiser on 
a basis which almost invited an unfair deal, they have 
established their position — because they have made 
good with their customers. 

Much might be said about the history and de- 
velopment of the advertising agency, but we can 



286 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

take time only to consider the four definite types 

which are now in existence. In this count I am 

not including a variation now practically 

Of Present- ex tinct — the man who merely clears busi- 

Agendes ness at a small advance on the net cost. 

FomTyvls -^ e cann °t make good any more, for most 

publishers either refuse to recognize him, 

or else give the service agent a so much lower flat 

rate that the "clearing agent" cannot deliver. 

There is the agency which sells copy service but 
does no placing. It may be one man, or a group of 
men. The charge is usually a fixed amount 
That 9 Sdls weekly or monthly. They handle none of 
Copy the J e tails of buying or contracting for 
space. Their methods are open and 
straightforward, and the copy is usually satisfactory 
and well worth what it costs. Their customers 
kno kV exactly what they pay for and what they get. 
Type 2 is the agency which solicits and places busi- 
ness at publishers 9 rates, writes copy, and gives a 
certain amount of merchandising counsel. 
Which® M° s t of the men who are doing business on 
Places this basis are honest, capable, and success- 
at ful. But I think this system does not 
^Rates™' P a y tnem > neither does it pay the pub- 
lishers nor their customers. The customer 
does not always know how much he is paying for 
agency service and how much for space. A weak 
publisher may secretly increase his commission to the 
agent, and the advertiser, because he is doing busi- 



THE ADVERTISING AGENCY 287 

ness at publishers' rates, would not be informed of the 
change. 

The agent himself often has a wrong conception 
of his proper relation to the customer and the pub- 
lisher. He is apt to think it is the publisher's com- 
mission that gives him his status. He should know 
that it is the advertiser's money that pays for both 
the publisher's space and service. 

Type 3 is the agency which sells its service to the 
customer on the basis of a charge of from 10 to 15 
per cent, above net and then asks the publisher for a 
commission for getting business for him and for pro- 
tection against the advertiser securing the same net 
price if he places his business direct. 

The agent who charges publisher's rates is clearly 

and admittedly the publisher's representative, and 

naturally looks to him for protection. Such a man 

Agents of mus t cas t n i s v °te with the publishers 

Types 2 in case of conflict. Most publishers recog- 

Cannot nize that the advertiser is entitled to a 

Fully square deal, and they implant this thought 
the in the minds of the agents who do business 
at publishers' rates. This is the only as- 
surance the advertiser has of being well served by 
such an agency. 

On the other hand, the agent who offers to charge 
a certain percentage above net, as guarantee that he 
will not allow himself to be influenced by any in- 
ereased commissions offered him by the publisher, 
and then asks the publisher for larger commissions 



288 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

(not lower rates) for "protection" against his own 
customer is carrying water on both shoulders and 
cannot represent anybody—not even himself— for 
any length of time. . 

This type of agent is in hot water continually. 

If an agent is doing business at publishers' rates, 
he is clearly entitled to keep for himself any rebates, 
discounts, or free space (publishers do not generally 
offer these things to advertisers direct). If he is 
charging 10 to 15 per cent, above net, and at the 
same time asking the publisher for favors for himself, 
The Evils ^ e publisher does not know v/hether the 

of the advertiser or the agent is entitled to favors 

System an appreciative publisher can consistently 
W NotRe°ve- g ram " Such an agent cannot have a 

sent the sound policy in relation to free space, 
special discounts, cash advances, bonuses 
on volume of space used within a certain time, and 
short-time rates which the customer may have paid 
to the agent but the agent has not paid to the pub- 
lisher. 

The type 3 agent must go as surely as the "placer" 
has gone. I believe the publishers' rate agent is to 
be with us for many years, perhaps permanently, 
because he is apt to specialize on a certain class 
of mediums, and to be a truly important business- 
getter for the publisher. If he is an honest and able 
man, and he usually is, his service is well worth what 
the advertiser pays for it. 

A number of successful organizations have realized 



THE ADVERTISING AGENCY 289 

the main features of type 4 in everyday practice so 

that I can safely say the type is well defined. It 

is an outgrowth of the organization idea. 

Type of It proves that cooperation and specializa- 

follTser- ^ on develop a higher standard of service 

vice to Its than can be attained by an individual, and 

that the advertiser will get more for his 

money if he takes advantage of its methods and 

adjusts his own organization to it. 

Such an agency sells service, and nothing else. 
It should have no ownership interest in space or 
supplies it buys for its customers. 

Its compensation should be a retainer fee, for ad- 
vice and counsel and the relinquishment of any con- 
flicting interests, plus a percentage on the 
System of amount of detail work handled or a specified 
Compensa- amount per day for the actual work of its 

tU)n • 1 T» 

various members. By far the most satis- 
factory system is a minimum yearly fee which is 
credited against a minimum 15 per cent, service 
charge to be added to the net amount of all purchases. 
This organization has four definite functions. It 
can, if properly equipped and intelligently managed, 

The Four ^ a ^ e care °^ eacn °f these better and more 
Definite economically than the advertiser can. 

Functions m-, 

f the They are: 

Advertising n\ Q ounse \ concerning mediums. The 

Agency N ' % ° 

of the organization which undertakes to advise 

ypt £ or or a g ams t a ny advertising medium 

should have had constant successful experience in the 



290 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

use of all kinds of mediums. A fully equipped 
agency organization should make money for small 
advertisers who use only one medium as well as for 
larger businesses which use several in combination. 
Its experience should cover newspapers, magazines, 
trade papers, mail-order papers, all class publica- 
tions, street cars, electric signs, painted bulletins and 
walls, and all kinds of printed and lithographed mat- 
ter, follow-up material, and novelties. 

(2) The buying power of the type 4 agency is main- 
tained at the highest point by refusing to accept for it- 
self anything from publishers or space producers. I 
believe that the ideal organization must refuse to sell 
its service, under any circumstances, to publishers or 
space producers, or to any one else from whom it may 
buy for its customers. 

The number of advertising mediums which have a 
fixed rate is small, though all the best ones do. A 
complicated rate card is a challenge to the trained 
space-buyer. Many mediums offer a net flat rate 
to large agency organizations, for the reason that they 
are wholesalers. Their customers are rebated the 
difference, of course. Where there is an opportunity 
for trading or dickering it is certainly advisable to 
employ a man who knows how to do it. It is quite 
generally conceded that the space-buyer for a large 
agency organization holds a very responsible position. 

The type 4 agency buys outright, and pays for 
space in cash, which is important because it com- 
mands the best the space-seller has to give. The buy- 



THE ADVERTISING AGENCY 291 

ing department of such an organization has nothing to 
consider save the actual value of the service available. 
It is, therefore, more apt to get a low price and col- 
lateral cooperation than the agency which asks the 
publisher for a commission and protection. 

(3) Copy service. No matter how carefully mediums 
have been selected, or how economically space has 
been bought, the space is without value to the adver- 
tiser until it is filled with copy which will get the 
desired result. The copy staff of a successful organi- 
zation must represent the picked men of a nation, 
working together harmoniously in confident coopera- 
tion with the advertiser's organization. 

Sometimes, after the analysis has been finished 
and the selling points agreed upon in conference 
with the advertiser, one man writes all the copy. 
Sometimes several men work on a national campaign 
if there are several consumer groups as well as trade 
literature and selling helps to be taken care of. 

(4) Sales cooperation, the most recent development 
of agency service, has been misunderstood in many 
places. It is nothing more nor less than the mer- 
chandising of advertising itself. It does not mean 
sales direction, nor the displacement of salesmen. 
Sales cooperation means getting more service from 
the publisher or space-producer, by convincing him 
that he can best entrench his own business by giving 
the advertiser more for his money. It makes the 
advertiser's salesman (who cooperates) more valuable 
to himself and to his principal. 



292 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The very best salesmen make many calls which are 
non-productive. Anything which increases their 
sales as compared with the number of calls made 
enhances the value of their services without add- 
ing to their labor. Sales cooperation is the result 
of applying to selling methods the principles of 
scientific management. It is sharing with salesmen 
the responsibility of planning their work. Adver- 
tising does the missionary work and the salesman 
becomes an expert "closer" and business-builder. 

Nowadays a banking corporation regards itself 

as the trustee of its depositors' money, and does not 

The loan money to any business in which its 

A Aqent l a Q °^ Q ^ S are interested. The same general 

Trustee principles should govern the conduct of an 

of the ■ j 1. . ... 

Customers' advertising organization. 

Money 'p] ie highest type of advertising service is 

offered by the organization which attracts as customers 

only those businesses which are acknowledged leaders 

in their respective lines, and then at all times regards 

, them as a group of non-conflicting interests 

1 lie Agency . 

of the cooperating for their common good. 
Type Will Such an organization will advise against 
Advise advertising if conditions are unfavorable. 
Advertising It knows, how, when, and where, advertis- 
tueflsNot * n & snou ^ be done. It should be consulted 
Ready long before the advertiser starts to plan 
about prices, distribution, the package, sell- 
ing methods, and the instruction of salesmen about 
ways and means for cashing in on the advertising. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

HOW MUCH MORE CAN BE GIVEN THE CONSUMER? 

IT WILL be time and money well spent if we can 
succeed in educating the public to an apprecia- 
tion of the economies good advertising establishes 
and maintains in the products and distribution of 
things worth buying. 

The more the consumer learns about what adver- 
tising means for him the more advertising itself will 
give him. The sooner the mind of the 
MakeTihe consumer accepts as an established fact 
Dollar that whenever he sees a thing advertised 

Larger ° t 

the advertising itself insures him a better 
value, in quality or quantity, or both, the sooner he 
will receive a greater share of the actual benefits of 
advertising. 

When a man or woman appreciates that an adver- 
tisement is reducing the cost of distributing goods 
that are in every way desirable, there naturally 
will follow the realization that this reduction of the 
selling cost enlarges the purchasing power of the 
dollar. 

The best way to illustrate the truth of the above 
assertions is to cite everyday things. 

293 



294 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

The Iowa hen produces more wealth each year than 
do the gold mines of California. Iowa's egg crop 
Th j is worth more annually than all the oranges 
Hen is raised in the United States. But there is 
no money in raising chickens — as a busi- 
ness. An apparent paradox! As a "side line" 
poultry makes $40,000,000 a year for the people of 
Iowa. 

Labor-saving machinery, the tests of the chemical 
laboratory, and the stop-watch of the business en- 
gineer have enormously increased the quantity of 
production without adding to its cost. But on every 
hand we discover appalling waste in our distributive 
system. There can be no question that the time and 
energy now expended upon the distribution of mer- 
chandise can be made to yield the consumer much 
more than he now gets. 

0ur A recent merchandising audit revealed 

Wasteful the fact that one-half of our garden truck 

Distribu- 

tive goes to waste. 
System ^ me thod of changing this waste into 
saving for the consumer is suggested by consideration 
of the canning industry. The canner buys fruit and 
vegetables during the season of surplus at a profitable 
price to producer for a period during which supply is 
greatly in excess of the demand. He cans them, pre- 
serves them, makes jellies and jams of them. The con- 
sumer buys these fruits and vegetables in the winter, 
when the uncanned article is either almost prohibitive 
in cost or else not to be had at all, but he buys them at 



HOW MUCH GIVEN CONSUMER? 295 

a price based on the cost of the raw material during 
times of plenty. 

It has also been found that it often costs more to 
distribute fresh fruits and vegetables than to get 
the same quality of them, canned, to the 
Through consumer. And the consumer has to re- 
V6 ihl smg member always that he is the man who 
Consumer pays for distribution. 
Luxuries Scientific merchandising methods have 
^NecesX developed a soap which is so good that it 
ties cannot be made better, yet it is delivered 
to the consumer for only frve cents per cake. 
All our big manufacturing plants are equipped for 
turning out many more of the comforts and luxuries 
of life than they are now making. The added operat- 
ing expense would disappear in the newly created 
volume of business. 

Many manufacturers would be glad to reduce their 
prices if they could be sure of getting larger volume 
by doing so. Many have attempted it. 
Scientific Unless they had first developed scientific 
tikng" merchandising plans the price reduction 
Benefits often simply gave their merchandise the 
Both reputation of being less worthy of the con- 
Pr °and eT sumer ' s confidence. The most successful 
Consumer manufacturers are those who have had care- 
ful merchandising audits of their market 
possibilities made, and from them have evolved plans 
of distribution, based upon definite knowledge of 
actual conditions. The manufacturer who can re- 



296 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

duce his price to the consumer and still have the 
consumer know that the quality of his product 
cannot have been changed is in the strongest possible 
position. He will greatly enlarge his market, be- 
cause he brings what he has to sell within the pur- 
chasing power of a large number of people. But if 
he reduces his price to meet competition, neither he 
nor the consumer will benefit. Either the quality 
of the merchandise or of the service which gets it to 
the consumer must be impaired — if the original price 
was right. 

Fortunately for the consumer, the heads of big 

business are realizing that the surest way to intrench 

the business which they have labored to 

When Big build up and develop is to reduce the retail 

Business price of their product and the cost of the 

pete service which gets it to the final buyer. 

in* Advert™- P ron ^s often depend upon the possible sav- 

ing the ing in the cost of reaching the consuming 

Consumer 
Will Be Best group. 

Served ^] le was te in our present system of dis- 

tribution is the measure of how much more 
he is now getting can be given the consumer by means 
of scientific advertising and distribution. 

My father tells me that as a boy he read every book 
he could borrow in the Iowa county in which he lived. 
To-day newspapers, general magazines, technical and 
class periodicals and public libraries make it possible 
for all of us to have all the reading matter we want 
of every kind. What publishers have done and are 



HOW MUCH GIVEN CONSUMER? £97 

doing for us other manufacturers will do, and we shall 
have the benefit. Misapplied energy is the biggest 
single waste item in our present industrial system. 
We see it all about us — in our stores especially, and 
ip the time so many young men waste in getting 
started upon business careers. 

The cost of all the wastes in our productive and 
distributive system is borne by the consumer. If 
the greatest waste is misdirected energy on the part 
of the everyday worker then the men who create a 
market for regular, steady, well-paid labor are in- 
creasing the number of satisfactions for the great 
mass of consumers. The manufacturers who develop 
demand for their products by advertising are doing 
more than any others to raise the standards in the 
labor market. 

Through advertising our big manufacturers are 

creating their own groups of consumers. These 

manufacturers hold their supremacy by 

Misapplied giving to their consumers the advantages 

the Greatest of the better quality or lower prices which 

Economic *t_i l 'j.1 i i i 

Waste are possible only with an enlarged and a 
stable market. Hence in buying the goods 
offered by the advertising manufacturer the con- 
sumer is always acting in line with his own best in- 
terests. He is adding his own influence to the 
mighty forces which are creating for him a greater 
number of satisfactions than his daily earning power 
could otherwise command. 

To say that in ten years the masses will have twice 



298 ADVERTISING— SELLING THE CONSUMER 

as many bathtubs, books, musical instruments, com- 
fortable sanitary heating systems, sleeping porches, 
telephones, electric lights, and labor-saving kitchen 
devices as they now possess is to speak conservatively. 

Modern advertising is certainly increasing the num- 
ber of luxuries and comforts that the day laborer is 
to command. By reason of the further 
Consumer's progress that is sure to be made in scientific 
W^i^° l ll r le methods of production and distribution 
Its Power in the laborer's dollar will buy twice as much 
ten years from now as it does to-day. He 
will be able to live 100 per cent, better than he is 
living now, because scientific advertising will educate 
the laborer to appreciate better things. Scientific 
advertising will also enable the manufacturer to deliver 
his products to the laboring man at prices he can afford 
to pay for them. 

We can well believe this when we consider what has 
been done in the past decade in eliminating waste 
in production and distribution. 

Advertising cannot benefit the advertiser if it does 
not serve the consumer. 

The more the consumer realizes this the more his 
dollar will buy for him and his family. 

The growth of this conviction is so widespread that 
I am safe in affirming that the consumer's increasing 
confidence in and intelligent appreciation of good 
advertising gives to the progressive manufacturer his 
greatest present opportunity. 

THE END 

THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK. 



